


Stockholm Syndrome | a Larry Stylinson AU [Completed]

by Mirthe



Category: One Direction (Band), stockholm syndrome - one direction
Genre: Kidnapped Harry, Kidnapping, M/M, Stockholm Syndrome, larry - Freeform, larry stylinson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-11 23:23:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 35,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5645581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mirthe/pseuds/Mirthe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stockholm Syndrome can develop in many places and in many situations. But what happens if two soulmates turn out to meet in such dire circumstances?</p><p>"He put his phone back and looked up as he saw a shadow looming over him. Noticing he had almost bumped in to another man he apologized. "Sorry sir, wasn't paying attention." He smiled and stepped aside in order to let the man pass. The man didn't move however. "Sir?" Harry asked."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stockholm Syndrome. Noun, Psychiatry.

  1. An emotional attachment to a captor formed by a hostage as a result of continuous stress, dependence, and a need to cooperate for survival.




	2. Stockholm Syndrome. Noun, Psychiatry.

As Harry walked down the sidewalk he put his hands in his pocket. It was a cold, rainy day. Pretty strange for march, if he was honest, especially because just last week he attended one of his dad's pool parties where people had been walking around in their swim suits all day. Feeling his phone buzz in his pocket he took it out. It was Gaby, texting him because she was wondering where he was.

 _Sorry_ , he texted.  _Lost track of time while reading in the library. Omw now._

It had been a pretty cool book he was reading, or actually the whole series was pretty nice. The Wheel of Time it was called. He had only found the first book a few weeks back and was already on the third one now. He put his phone back and looked up as he saw a shadow looming over him. Noticing he had almost bumped into another man he apologized. "Sorry sir, wasn't paying attention." He smiled and stepped aside in order to let the man pass. The other one didn't move however. "Sir?" Harry asked.

Suddenly, everything happened at once. The man grabbed him. Someone else smacked him on the back of his head. Another person pushed him towards the curb of the sidewalk. Harry could hear an engine rolling.  _Shit_ , Harry thought. _Shit._ Nothing else came to mind _._ Someone pushed him again and Harry stumbled a bit, almost losing his balance. He heard a deep voice grumble something about being clumsy and heard a car door being opened. He was pushed in and got something thrown over his head. Harry tried to fight back, he really did, but all he got for that was another smack on the head.

Then everything went black.


	3. One

Harry woke up again a while after. This time the bag was removed and he could look around a bit, though he noticed that moving his head too much made him nauseous. He also noticed that his arms were tied together behind his back.

Carefully, Harry tried to take in his surroundings. He sat somewhere in a room on a big leathery couch. It seemed like some sort of VIP lounge room, guessing from the times he had been in one himself. There was a table in front of him with a few magazines carefully laid down and a vase with flowers. There were no windows. He did see a sign on the wall with 'Free Wi-Fi' on it, and thought about taking his phone somehow to text for help, but his hope soon evaporated as he noticed that whoever had left him here had also taken his coat and scarf. His phone was probably somewhere in the bin by now.

Harry groaned and let his head fall back against the wall, though he could've better not done that. Another wave of nausea hit him.  _God, if only someone would come and give me a drink or something, that'd be nice._

As if on cue someone entered the room through a door Harry had first not noticed. He gave the man a once over, then realized he should probably pay more attention to his looks in order to help the police later, and took the guy's details in more carefully.  _If I ever get the chance to talk to the police ever again that is_ , he thought. Ignoring his own mind he brought his attention back to the guy in front of him, now noticing the glass of water he had in his hands. 

_Who is he and what role does he have in all of this?_

_Where am I?_

_Where are they taking me?_

_Will he hurt me if I try to run through that door right now?_

"Figured you'd be thirsty by now," the guy said in a high voice which didn't really match his scruff looks, unaware of the war raging on in Harry's head. Harry nodded his head thankfully. The guy took a step forward in his toms so he could set the glass at Harry's lips, and as Harry was drinking he carefully studied the guy's face.

It was a kind face, with a dark blonde scruffy beard and piercing blue eyes. The guy was wearing a grey beanie but Harry could still see some dark blonde hair peeking underneath it, the same colour as the guy's beard.

"Thank you," Harry said after he drank all of it. The guy nodded, then raised his hand and threw the glass on the floor. Hard.

"Oops," he said with a smirk. "Couldn't really leave fingerprints, now can we?"

Harry said nothing as he just looked at him in shock. "You just.. Why, you, did you.." he sputtered. The other guy ignored Harry and walked out. As Harry tried to follow him with his gaze he felt his eyes go drowsy, and a thought crossed his mind.  _He drugged me._  Soon after that, everything went black again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lovelies :D
> 
> How you like the story so far? Comment to let me know what you think? :D  
> Do you think Louis' image of Harry's personality in this story is correct?  
> I promise next chapters will be longer!
> 
> Love Xx.~  
> Mirthe


	4. Two

Harry opened his eyes slowly. How much time had passed? A dull aching in his arms which was making him feel very uncomfortable indicated he had been there for quite some time. He found that his hands were still bound behind him and that the nice, comfy couch was gone. Instead he was now strapped onto a wooden chair. Harry sighed. His situation had unmistakably worsened.

Instead of sitting in a nice warm room with a table and magazines, he now seemed to be in an abandoned building. In the right corner he saw something that seemed like a disgusting grey toilet without a lid, from which Harry was almost certain that the original colour had been white. When he tried to look behind him he saw a mattress laying in the corner along the wall where the toilet was. Swallowing, and trying not to think about what it meant that they had gone through the trouble to get a toilet and a mattress here for him, he studied the rest of the room.

There was a door in the left corner of the room, and the floor was concrete and cold. Luckily they had given him his jacket back – of course with empty pockets, as the familiar weight of his phone and notebook were missing. The walls weren't plastered; he could see the stones crumble. Harry tried if he could get his arms loose but the ropes wouldn't budge. Unfortunately, whoever had tied him up had done a good job. Would shouting work?  _Who knows, maybe someone will come in and give me some food and something to drink,_ he thought.  _While drugging me again with it._

Whatever. He needed to eat and drink, he couldn't starve himself because he was afraid his food would be poisoned. Besides, what use would he be to them if he was dead? They wouldn't poison him, he figured. So, might as well shout. He took a deep breath, and then exhaled again.

Wait.

What if he made them angry by shouting and they would hurt him? What if they would gag him or something because they didn't want him to make any sound?

Then again, what if there was someone around here who could help him? He nodded, took a deep breath again, opened his mouth... And exhaled once more as he heard the door click out of its lock and saw it open. "Room service," a voice mocked. The same guy as before came in, carrying a tray with a glass of orange juice and a sandwich on a plate. Harry glared at him. "Geez don't worry, it's not drugged or something."

Harry huffed. "So, you're the maid huh? Why can't the  _real_  bad guy come out and face me?" In his mind he smacked himself on his forehead. Why would he taunt him like that? This guy was dangerous, he might even be carrying a gun! He had already  _drugged_  him, who said he wasn't going to be very upset at Harry's salty comeback and maybe hit him in the head with the tray he was holding? 

 _Okay, okay, breathe Harry, breathe and relax. Everything's cool. He doesn't seem pissed. It's okay. Breathe,_  he thought to himself.

"Pffff, that 'real bad guy' you're talking about is busy doing 'real bad guy' important stuff. And secondly, I am not a  _fucking_  maid," the guy replied. The last few words were emphasized, as if Harry had hit a sensitive spot there.

"You made my finger bleed you know, when you dropped that glass. It hurts," Harry said. Again, he wanted to smack himself on the forehead.  _Good job, show them what a weak little guy you are! Why don't you go crying about missing your mum too, huh?_  his own thoughts mocked him. The other guy just rolled his eyes.

"Too bad for you mate. Now, you want to eat or just chit chat?" he said as he put down the plate and took the sandwich.

"Fine. Whatever you gave me made me quite thirsty," Harry admitted. Then he bit his tongue.  _Don't fucking show weakness!_ He half expected the guy to cut him loose, but instead he switched the sandwich he was holding for the glass of orange juice and put it at Harry's lips, just as he had done before. Harry drank gratefully, although he had preferred to take the glass himself. He figured he'd have to gain a bit of trust of this guy before he would let him loose.  _Hah, hear me thinking all rationally in this completely irrational situation. Gain my kidnappers trust? In what world do I live?_

"I could also do it myself, you know," he said against his better judgement when the guy put the glass down again.

"Yeah sure. You're taller than me mate. Besides, Curt said to bring you some water only. I'm already doing you a favour with all of this," the other guy said.

Harry looked at him. So, Curt was the one in charge here. There was something about the way this guy pronounced his name though. As if he... Harry shook the thought off. Nah, he was probably just imagining things. "Thank you," he said quietly. Whoever Curt was, since he was behind all of this he didn't seem like a guy Harry would like to cross like the guy just did for him. "Why though?"

The guy looked up. "Why what?"

"Why do me a favour?" It seemed like a pretty rational question to ask, given the situation. The other guy was obviously the one calling the shots here, and since he was partially responsible for the situation Harry was in he didn't really seem to care about Harry. So, why do him a favour?

The guy was silent for a moment. "I don't fucking know," he then said. "I am Louis by the way." Harry nodded.

"You probably already know who I am, don't you Louis?" Harry said. The name felt strange on his tongue. He didn't know anyone else named Louis, although it was a common name.

"Yeah," Louis said sheepishly. "Anyway. You hungry?" Louis picked up the sandwich and held it for Harry's mouth so he could take a bite.

"No thanks."

"You must be hungry though, I know those pills give you the crazed munchies after you wake up, that's why I brought food," Louis persisted. He was right; Harry was crazily hungry, but too proud to admit it now. He didn't want Louis' favours. He didn't want any of this. He just wanted to go home, to see Gaby and Taylor, to read some books, to see his cousin ride her horse Santiago, he just wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Get out. I don't want your food."

"You do. I can see it in your eyes."

"Don't pretend like you know me!" Harry snapped. "HEY," he then suddenly yelled. "CAN SOMEONE HEAR ME? HELP! I'M BEING HELD HERE AGAINST MY WILL! HELP ME!" Louis' eyes went wide.

"Stop screaming! There's no one here to hear you except for our people, and they won't be happy once they do!" he cried out.

"HELP ME!" Harry continued, ignoring him. Panicked, Louis grabbed the tray and raised it above his head, making the glass roll over the ground, away from them.

"I will use this if you don't shut-..." he threatened but Harry didn't even hear him.

"HELP ME PLEASE ANYONE!" he cut Louis off. Louis felt like he didn't have any choice. If one of the other men would hear Harry there would be a lot of problems, because first of all they would see Louis went to see the boy – this place was strictly forbidden, and they would see Louis had thus disobeyed his own orders – , and they would also see Louis had brought him food – which went against his own orders as well; the boy was meant to starve for a bit to scare him into submission - , and third they would see Louis standing with the tray above his head, about to hurt their valuable prize, which was one of the first rules Curt had set when they made this plan; they would not, in any case, hurt the boy. At least not somewhere where it would be clearly visible or heal slowly.

This last rule was already broken in the first five minutes when the guys smacked him on the head in order to knock him out, and Curt had been furious when he heard. Louis felt like he had two options however; have Harry cause all sorts of drama and make Curt pissed, or try and hit him so he would shut up and maybe Curt would never find out Louis was even there. He went for the second option.

A loud bang echoed through the empty room and the sudden silence sent shivers all over Louis' body. 

 _Did I really knock him out?_  he wondered.  _Did I kill him?_  This wasn't the first time he hurt someone else, but this  _was_  however the first time he hurt someone innocent. Carefully he put the tray down and went to check Harry's pulse. Relieved he noticed it was still there, and although it was slow, it was steady. He couldn't leave him like this though.. Softly he smacked Harry's cheek.

"Hey. Hey Harry," he said. "Hey mate, wake up." Harry didn't move. In fact, he was even starting to drool a little bit. Exasperated Louis took a tissue out of his pocket to wipe it off and again, he smacked Harry's cheek, this time a bit more impatient.

"Come on Harry, please wake up," he said. Goddammit! If only he hadn't been so stupid as to walk in here and think he would be able to pull this off, this.. this whole  _situation_  they had going on around here, everything would've been just fine! But no, he just had to go and prove he wasn't a bad human and go  _feed_  the kid for fucks sake. Why did he even go in here? Was it to prove that he was still able to empathize with people even when he kidnapped them? Was it to prove to himself that he wasn't afraid of this kid? Or was it because of something else entirely, because he couldn’t shake the feeling those sad green eyes had given him when they first met? Because they had made him feel  _guilty_? Because those eyes had actually made him care, make him second guess everything?

It was probably all of those, combined with a hinge of curiosity. What was a person in captivity like? What was this rich kid like, spoiled to all eternity, suddenly stripped of all its privileges? What was someone like who probably never knew how it felt to lose someone you care about, someone who had never known how it was to have money problems, because the kid had the perfect life? Always food in his stomach, a good high school diploma, probably loads of friends and a pretty girlfriend too, judging from his looks. Terrible. Louis suddenly despised Harry as he looked at the kid, sitting there with his hands tied behind his back and again drooling a bit. Why did he even care if he had hurt him? He wasn't innocent. Probably never spent a dime of the available fortune to him on anything else but alcohol and partying. And perhaps even drugs. Louis swallowed.

Perhaps he was one of those people who bought drugs just for the heck of it, just for the fun, for the ability to say that his kind of parties were filled with girls, drugs and drinking. He was probably one of those people who didn't think about the consequences for his family if he got addicted, who didn't think about the consequences of spending so much money – because he simply didn't  _have_  to. Shit. Louis scrambled to put everything back on the tray and left the room as fast as he could. So far for secret visits... Hopefully no one heard what had been going on here so Curt wouldn't find out he had been there. Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Harry. What is your opinion about Louis till now?
> 
> See you next time!   
> Love Xx.~


	5. Three

"You did what?!" Curt yelled out. His fist slammed on the desk. "I thought that the rest of the guys were the ones to worry about. I thought I could trust you!"

"I know sir, I.."

"I don't care about your petty apologies and excuses. You're dismissed," Curt snarled. The man he had been yelling to left the room with his head between his shoulders and a panicked look on his face.

Louis didn't feel sorry for him though. No one came out of a scolding from Curt unscratched and Louis knew that the man would get his real punishment later, but he also knew this man had been pretty stupid to cross Curt the way he did. No, he didn't feel sorry for him one bit.

"Come in Louis," Curt said. Louis swallowed and entered, his head held high and a stern look on his face.

"Shouldn't we go check on the boy now, sir? It has been a couple of hours," he said. Curt laughed.

"Don't have to pretend like you have a broom stuck up your arse Lou," he said. "We only have a few men around here. Loyal men. It's fine."

Louis relaxed and smiled. "Good to see you again," he said.

Curt smiled back. "I already sent someone up there. He will be back shortly. If you're so concerned about the boy's wellbeing you could wait for a few minutes to hear what he has to say." Curt looked down on his desk again, flickering trough some papers and Louis tensed again. What if Harry still hadn't woken up?

A short knock was heard and a man came in. "Sir," he said. "The boy is fine. It's just that he, um.." the man trailed off as he saw Louis standing there.

"Continue, Drake. I don't have the whole day," Curt said impatiently.

"Well sir, the boy has a bruise on his face." For a moment there was a complete silence in the room.

"He has a what?" Curt said silently. His silent voice was even more threatening than an actual threat. Louis swallowed. Why was it suddenly so warm in here?

"There is a small bruise on the left side of his forehead sir. His hair is long enough to cover it however, if he doesn't move too much before the picture is taken." The man seemed uneasy. He didn't show it clearly, but after spending so much time with Curt and his company Louis had learned to read people the way few others could. Curt nodded slowly and got up.

"I want to see it for myself," Curt snapped. "Walk with me Louis," he then said. The man stayed in his spot and Louis knew that when Curt came back, no matter how long it took, the man would still be standing there in the exact same spot. Curt wasn't one to mess around with, and he liked to be in perfect control of everything and everyone. Wanted to know everything that was going on and every move these men made would be something he told them to do. Even their peeing breaks were scheduled for fucks sake.

Louis trailed after Curt through the door and to the left, towards the staircase leading up to the third floor. Then they went through the corridor, going right and ending up in front of the door which Curt unlocked. As they entered Louis sent a silent prayer up into the big nothing if Harry could  _please_  be awake and  _please_  not have a bruise that big and  _please_ not be mad at him for being the cause of this bruise and also  _please_ not say anything about Louis having dropped by earlier.

Curt was already examining the bruise on Harry's face, pushing his hair up to get a clearer view while Harry glared at him. Louis almost smirked involuntarily. Harry wasn't one to go down without a fight, he had figured that much already.

"How did this happen?" Curt demanded.

"We think it happened when he fell in the plane, sir," a man standing guard spoke. Harry's eyes went wide in shock.

"Watch your tongue," Louis snapped at the man. "Curt, we could better do this outside." He motioned his head to Harry, who still had the shock evident on his face.

"Plane?" he muttered. "Why on earth did you guys put me on a plane? Where the hell am I?"

No one paid any attention to him. "Yes," Curt nodded. "Let's."

Everyone went outside, including the two men who had already been in the room.

"A fucking plane?" Harry said out loud to the empty room. His head still throbbed from the blow Louis had given him with the tray, but he knew this bruise these men were talking about wasn't because of that. Louis' pain came from somewhere more on top of his head, and guessing from where the men had been poking his face, this bruise they were talking about was more on his forehead.

 _So that is the all-feared Curt, huh?_ he thought to himself.  _Seems a pretty average guy to me_. Curt was not someone you would easily remember. He had an average height, an average body posture and short, brown hair. His eyes were dark brown and his skin was a bit sun tanned, but not enough make him stand out. There was something in his eyes that made Harry weary of him though. It was a cold, harsh look, and the way he had been looking at Harry was like he was nothing more than an object to him, as if he wasn't an actual human being with his own dreams and hopes and fears, but merely a puppet that could make Curt get a little bit richer than he already was.

The only one who hadn't treated him like a bag of money up till now had been Louis. Harry felt ashamed for his pathetic screaming from earlier, and he understood why Louis had been so panicky to alarm Curt. His head didn't hurt that much anyway and Curt really didn't seem like a person he would like to anger. Harry shivered involuntarily. Even though Curt had been calm and his voice had been steady and of a normal volume, he had felt the anger bubbling just below the surface. It was like Curt was a balloon who was always on the verge of exploding. Something in his eyes had darkened when he saw the spot on Harry's face, but Harry made himself no illusions. He knew it wasn't because he cared about him or his wellbeing – it was more like he had been annoyed because his fruit had been bruised.

For quite some time after that Harry didn't hear or see anyone. It was as if the building was abandoned. 

 _What if they don't want me anymore because I got this bruise? What if they will just take off and leave me here, throw me out like the bruised piece of fruit they now think I am? Take the plane back home and..._  His thoughts froze. Plane. Right. The man had said something about a plane, and Louis, who had seen Harry's shock appear on his face, had told the man to shut up and take the rest of the conversation outside.

The only reason Louis probably did that was to keep Harry from finding out where he was. One thing he knew for certain now was that he wasn't in England any more. All hope evaporated as soon as this thought dawned on him. If he had been in England, at least if he was able to escape – and that was a very big  _if_ , seeing as this building seemed to be highly guarded – he would've been able to get home soon enough. He would've been able to get himself to safety. Now however...

Now he was trapped somewhere in another country, maybe even somewhere where they didn't speak English. How was he supposed to find the authorities if he was in a non-English speaking country? Catching a plane wouldn't be that big of a deal once he could get a phone; one call to his dad or someone in his staff and everything would've been arranged. He supposed that people should know by now that he was missing.

They did know, right? He texted Gaby right before they took him that he was on his way over to the studio, and a walk between the library always took exactly fourteen minutes. He knew. They had called often enough when he left the library and only hung up when he walked right through the door, and always their call had been around fourteen minutes.

So therefore, if they knew that he didn't arrive at the studio in time, Gaby should've known something was wrong. And if she knew, that meant she would've called Harry, then Taylor if he knew anything, then Nancy, his sweet nanny whom he and his friends had on speed dial, then Harry again, then his dad if there was still nothing on where he was, and then...

Then it would all depend on his dad on what they would've done. If his dad was in a meeting, on the phone, busy with a client or simply in a bad mood he probably would've just waved it off as nothing. His other brother Jake had disappeared all the time, and his dad didn't bother to look for him anymore either. So why would he bother and look for his second best son?

By now Harry was getting pretty bored. Seriously though, where was everyone? Had they really forgotten about him? Suddenly he heard some banging noises, as if something was dragged up the stairs. He perked up as he heard the door click out of its lock again. Was it Curt, or Louis? Or maybe one of the other guards? Anyone was a welcome distraction from his rambling thoughts at this point.

It was Louis, only now he came without any food or drinks to offer.  Instead he was rolling a bureau chair behind him. When he was inside he gave the chair a push and it rolled over to Harry while Louis was still busy closing the door and locking it again. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"So," Louis said.

"So," Harry said. He swallowed. What was going to happen now? Was he going to be interrogated or something? Tortured? Maybe Louis was one of these people who enjoyed seeing others in pain. 

 _Or_ , Harry thought as another thought dawned on him.  _Maybe he is just as bored as me because we are wherever, and I bet Louis' family and friends don't live in wherever._

Then again, Harry assumed Louis probably had better things to do than merely keep him company. More important things. He had noticed how Louis seemed to be on a friendly foot with Curt, unlike the others who were much more... Respectful to him. Much more distant. So if Louis was such an important person around here then why would he waste his time on talking to Harry?

"So tell me. Does it still hurt?" Louis asked as he sat down, the back of the chair facing Harry as Louis leaned his arms on it.

"Does what hurt?" Harry asked surprised.

"Your bruise," Louis said dryly. "Or have you forgotten about that throbbing head ache I most likely gave you?"

"No..." Harry said slowly. He didn't want to freak Louis out again, three blows to the head – or rather four, if he counted the one he knew of while he was unconscious – was enough for him. He had been here like what, 24 hours? More? Less? Harry had no idea how long he had been unconscious. He traced his steps back. It was Wednesday when they took him.. that much he knew for sure. In the car he couldn't have been knocked out for that long, and there were plenty of airports in London nearby they could've taken him, so he estimated that had taken about two hours max. What had happened after that however he had no idea. The flight could've been long, it could've been short. He could've waken up a day after they put him here, or immediately after they tied him. He didn't dare to ask Louis however. Not yet. "Hm?" he said as he noticed Louis was talking to him.

"So therefore I have to take care of you for a few days until your bruise has faded a bit so we can take a picture," Louis was saying. "We could hide it with make up or with your hair but Curt didn't want them to get suspicious, and besides, there's no one here who knows his way around make up." Was it just Harry or did Louis' face just flush a little bit? Wait, picture?

"Why do you need a picture?"

"To send it to your father," Louis stated simply. He said it just so nonchalantly as if there was nothing weird about this situation at all, as if Louis had done this thousands of times. Louis didn't feel as calm as he was pretending to be though, and his heart was pumping in his chest but Harry didn't know any of that.

"Oh," was all Harry could bring out.

"Anyway," Louis said. "I'm gonna go. See you." With that abrupt goodbye Louis left Harry again, pulling the chair with him. As he closed the door the light in the room flickered a bit and Harry sighed. He had secretly hoped Louis would untie him, or at least loosen the ropes but he didn't do it on his own accord and Harry hadn't dared to ask. He was already happy enough Louis took the time to talk to him. Maybe he could ask him next time. Harry eyed the mattress behind him. Weirdly enough he felt a longing to just lay there, no matter how gross the mattress seemed to be. He wanted to just lay there, curl up in a ball and finally be able to stretch his arms out for a bit. At least that would get rid of the dull prickling sensation he now felt. He groaned. Fucking hell. This situation was just so fucked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya (:
> 
> I think Louis is acting kinda weird tbh, how bout you?  
> See you next week! And as always, don't forget to let me know if you liked this chapter! :3
> 
> Xx. ~  
> Mirthe


	6. Four

Harry sat in silence as one of Curt's men was readying the camera. He also saw a white piece of cardboard and a black marker laying on the floor next to Curt's feet, but there was nothing written on the cardboard yet. It made Harry curious. What amount did they think his dad would pay for him?

It was quite disturbing to be actually asking himself this question. He had always assumed that a child was something worth so much value that a parent would do anything to get their kid back if there was something that happened to them; however, now he wasn't as certain anymore. What if his dad decided that 'those criminals' were asking too much? He could see him pace up and down his office, phone pressed against his ears, glasses on and a weary look on his face. "What? 500 pounds? Outrageous!" he would say. Harry knew that five hundred pounds was worth about a blink of an eye to his dad, but also that it would probably not even come near the amount these people were going to ask. So still... Still he felt nervous.

If it was Jake in this chair his dad would've paid anything, Harry knew that for sure. But would he do the same thing now it was Harry that was on the line? Wouldn't it be... Easier not to? Harry swallowed. His relationship to his dad was bad, that much was evident. He just wasn't sure how bad exactly. Did his dad love him? Yes, of course he did. He told him he did when Harry was younger. But did he still? After outing himself to him as gay and then coming home with a girlfriend a month later had really put a strain on their relationship. "You're going to be the death of me one day, son," his father had told him after Harry outed himself  _again_ , this time just not as gay but as a bisexual. It had been a very difficult period for the both of them, because it made them realize how much they needed a womanly figure in their midst. No, not just any womanly figure. His mum.

Harry didn't really remember much about his mum... His thoughts were rudely interrupted however as Curt said something. "... And then we will let him go." Harry perked up. Let him go? Let who go?  _Him_? As in, Harry him? Himself him?

"Hold this," Curt said as he handed Harry the piece of cardboard. Harry couldn't help but peek down at it. Wait, what did that say? "Look up here," Curt said impatiently as the man snapped a photo. He looked at the screen and groaned. "Again, and this time don't blink." Harry felt nervous. What would they do to him after this picture was taken? He now understood that they had needed him to be clean shaven and well rested for the picture – that's why they let him sleep on the mattress last night. Louis even dropped by and gave him a blanket in case he got cold, and this morning he gave Harry a breath mint. "Again," Curt said.

However, after the picture was taken there was no reason to shave him, or to let him sleep comfortably, or to feed him, or to like.. not punch him to death or whatever. Harry swallowed. What was going to happen to him now? "Say cheese," Curt said and Harry couldn't help but automatically give a tiny smile as the man snapped the third picture. Curt looked at the screen again and nodded this time in approval. As Curt and the man were talking for a bit Harry turned the cardboard around and looked at what was written on it. There was not much on there, though what it said.. made Harry's throat dry. Were they really... Were they serious?

"2 MILLION POUNDS" it read. Harry looked at it. And looked at it some more. He blinked, but the number was still there.

Then he started to laugh. Loud. Hysterically, almost.

He couldn't help it. The amount was just outrageous. It was bold, and way too much, and he was sure his dad would never pay it for him. It was way too much.

Yeah, his dad was rich, but most of the cars and parties they had were funded by the company. 'Social networking' was what his dad called it. And yes, his dad's suit was expensive, also true, but he bought that one about five years ago. He was sure that two million would severely cut down his dad's wealth.

They wouldn't starve to death, but they would have to fire some of the household staff probably. Maybe even move to another house, a smaller one. Harry seriously had no idea how this was going to go down.

As he wiped his tears from his eyes he saw everyone in the room was staring at him. He shrugged sheepishly. "It's too much," he then said. Curt blinked, and so far that must've been the most emotion he had seen this man express up till  now.

"It's too much," he said again. "My dad can't miss this amount at a snap of his fingers. Maybe if you guys had taken the other son..." Harry trailed off. Would his dad pay this much for Jake? Maybe. Harry didn't know. Curt just looked at him.

"Shut up," Curt then said. "Shut up!"

Harry jolted up in shock of Curt's sudden change in demeanour. "Take care of him," Curt snapped at Louis. Then he left the room angrily, the other two men following him. During all of this Louis had said nothing, he had just been leaning against the wall and waiting for them to be finished. Now he approached Harry wearily.

"You okay?" Louis asked him.

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Harry waved him off. Then he looked up. "Don't you have something better to do?" Louis seemed to be taken aback by this reply.

"In fact I do, yeah. I'm starving. Think I'm gonna go eat something. Don't suppose you need anything?" Louis then said, sounding annoyed. After that he walked out just as Curt had done, only difference being that Louis actually slammed the door shut behind him.

As the loud 'bang' still echoed through the empty room Harry closed his eyes. Why did he have to say that to Louis? He didn't have any reason to behave like this, Louis had been nothing but friendly to him. Unlike the others around here. And if he was honest Harry was getting hungry as well. What was the last time he had eaten anything? This morning? Yesterday? He had no idea. Time didn't exist in this place. Here the only hold on he had to estimate what time of the day it was, was when they came to untie him so he could sleep, or tie him to the chair again in the morning. Or at least what Harry supposed to be morning. Sighing he decided to try and be more friendly to Louis next time. It wasn't like he deserved a bad attitude from him after being so caring by bringing him food and blankets...

Harry didn't know how much time had passed after he shot up straight again when the door opened. He had been so bored he had almost fallen asleep, while at the same time his hunger and thirst wouldn’t allow him to completely drift off. He didn't want to risk missing it when someone came to give him something to eat or drink.

It was Curt, followed by an anxious Louis. "So," Curt mused. "The wrong son, huh?" He moved closely to Harry and put his hands on both sides of his chair, bending forward till their faces were inches apart. "And what made you say that? Doesn't daddy love you as much as he loves the other?" Curt sneered. Harry blinked. What was this? Trying to break his spirit by talking about his daddy issues with him?

He wanted to say something, make a witty retort, but he couldn't. Truth was that he was crippled with fear. He had no idea what kind of person Curt was, and although Louis' presence calmed him down a bit he still felt nervous. After all, Curt was still in charge here.

After all, Louis was still part of the bad guys.

"What's wrong boy? Cat got your tongue?" Curt said. Harry was feeling uneasy. Could he please like, not invade his personal space?

"Come on Curt, what did we even come here for? Just to make fun of the kid?" Louis said. His voice was different from when they were alone. More.. stern. On edge. Tensed. Curt turned his head towards Louis but stayed put.

"What's it to you? Weren't you bored anyway? Might be a nice distraction to make this little piggy squeal." Curt grinned and Harry squirmed in his chair. What was he talking about? Was he going to torture Harry or something? Louis put a hand on Curt's shoulder.

"Seriously? That's what we came here for, to taunt him, scare him? What's the use of that? In a couple of days we will have our money and he'll be gone. No need to scar him even more."

Curt turned around quickly, his eyes sending daggers. "Why are you going soft on me? Don't tell me you actually  _like_  this kid. He's a spoiled pig," Curt snapped. "He stands for everything you hate. And for the money, I feel like their reply is taking way too long. The money could've been here by now. Or does your daddy really not love you as much as he loves his other son?" The last part was directed back at Harry again. Harry cringed, but said nothing.  _Probably_ , he thought.  _But I'm not going to tell you that_. Curt huffed at Harry's silence. "Don't ignore me,  _boy_."

Harry felt like Curt really thought calling him 'boy' could be seen as an insult. He shrugged mentally. Why would he care if Curt called him boy? People had called him worse things. Done worse things to him than merely call him names. Way worse. He ignored Curt as his mind drifted off to a distant memory from boarding school.

_"Hey there, Pathetic."_

_“Jake, what do you want from me?” Harry said annoyed, with a slight tremble in his voice._

_“Oh no, is the big boy scared?” Jake grinned. “Wanna go run to Rosy again?”_

_“Shut up.” Harry tried to move past his brother but instead took a step back when Jake came closer. “Let me go. I need to go to the loo.”_

_Jake shook his head. “Come on_ Hazza _. I know dad gave you money. I need it.”_

_Harry cringed at the unnatural sound of his nickname that his brother had used so many times before. This time however, it didn’t sound sweet. He shook his head wildly. “No! You still haven’t… you still haven’t paid me back from last time! You said you would!” Harry looked at his brother with big eyes and Jake laughed._

_“I never said I would. Now pay up.”_

_“No! I.. I don’t want to!” Harry had tears in his eyes and his knees felt weak. He hated the person his brother had become. The one and only who had sworn to protect him at all costs was now the one he needed protection from._

_The first blow hit him hard. The second made him fall to his knees, and with the third one Harry let out a sob._

_“You know I could take it myself just as easily. You don’t have to make it this hard on yourself.” Harry looked at Jake’s shoes and wondered where he even needed the money for so desperately. He then rolled over and looked up at his brother who was bend over him. Too exhausted to resist any longer he took his wallet out from under his shirt. The cord around his neck grazed his skin painfully as he ripped it off. “Thank you,” Jake grinned as he reached for it. In an impulse, Harry threw the black thing away from him. He cringed again as it skidded over the floor, clearly audible in the empty hallways, but there was no kick that followed. The only thing Harry heard were Jake’s running footsteps as he took the wallet and strode off._

Harry had no idea for how long he had stayed in that position back then. He remembered getting up with sore muscles and an empty stomach, but that was it. He didn’t know if someone had missed him, or if he had gone to bed. He couldn’t recall if anyone had seen or taken care of his bruises or if he had just let them heal on their own as usual, praying no one would see during gym classes. He didn’t remember any of those things, but what he _could_ remember were Jake’s piercing eyes and rough, mean voice as he had spoken to Harry that day. Jake had been desperate for money; he had never given Harry such a hard time for it. He turned his gaze to focus on Curt again. The look that man had in his eyes… It reminded him of what Jake had looked like that time. It was the same desperate look of a man with no other options left. Curt needed Harry, that much was sure. Now he just had to find a way to use that against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you! So, I really hope you like it so far! Let me know what you think?
> 
> See you next time :3
> 
> Xx.~ <3  
> Mirthe


	7. Five

Louis eyed Harry as he tapped away on his phone. He was sitting in the bureau chair again, though he wasn't sitting as close to Harry as he had been the first time. He was leaning back, and the back of the chair touched the wall.

It wasn't like he didn't  _want_  to talk to the kid, it was more like he didn't know how to start. The last time they had seen each other was when Curt had been taunting him and Harry had suddenly drifted off, seemingly lost in his own mind without being able to get pulled back.

Maybe he had autism or something. Whatever. The kid should still know his place, had to learn he would have to do as Louis said. Or mostly he would have to do what Curt said, but as Curt had to take off pretty often and didn't have the time to stay here, Louis would be the person the crew officially answered to.

Louis looked back at his screen again where he had beaten another level of candy crush. He loved this game, hated the fact you had to buy more lives if you failed a level often enough. Stupid companies with their stupid capitalism. As if me had the money for that kind of  bullshit. Anyway.

He looked at Harry again, but the boy was in the same position as he had been; on the chair, arms behind him and looking down, his curls falling a bit in front of his face. Would his family be searching for him? Louis swallowed. His dad still hadn't reacted to the picture they sent. Hm. What if Harry was right and his dad really didn't care about him?

Well, at least his dad stuck around... Louis his father had left when Louis was only fourteen, not long after his first sister was born. It had been hard on him, but it had been even harder on his mum.

She had always been a nice person, his mum. Always had another story to tell from something she had experienced, or something someone once told her. Always managing to make Louis happy when he felt down. And she knew him through and through, sometimes even better than he knew himself. For example, he had told her he was gay at twelve years old and she had merely nodded and said "I know baby." His dad... He never dared to tell his dad. Their connection just hadn't been as strong as it was with his mum, and Louis figured there would be time when he came home with his first boyfriend to tell his dad about how he felt.

And then his mum got pregnant, and the fights were over for a little while, but after the birth of Daisy in December his dad rarely came home at night and if he did, he smelled like beer and cigars. And then he left. In the same month, right before Christmas his dad had packed his bags and left a note on the dresser, saying he was with his other friend whom Louis was sure was a woman. He never told his mum about his suspicions but a few months later Louis would've sworn the man he had seen walking with two other women in the park – linking arms with the both of them – had been his father.

His mother was never the same after he had left them. She had lost her happy atmosphere; even though she tried to hide it Louis knew something was wrong, and he tried to help her best he could. He didn't know where she got the money from to buy groceries. The only thing he got from her when he went grocery shopping were some crumpled up banknotes. Honestly, he didn't even think he would want to know where she got her money from.

Then one day, a few months later, his mother came out of the bathroom crying. She told Louis he was going to be a brother again. Louis was fifteen when she gave birth to Phoebe, and although he wasn't sure he understood why she was crying while she told him this, he did know it wasn't going to be a daughter from the same father.

He helped his mum as good as he could but shortly after giving birth to Phoebe she just... Lost all spirit and lust for life. She rarely ate, loosed weight rapidly and slept all day. Louis' world crashed, and the only thing really keeping him going was the love he felt for his two little sisters, and the need to protect them from the world's harm.

Because they didn't have enough money to really go to a doctor they had a friend from his mum come over. This friend gave Louis a piece of paper where she wrote a long name on, and told him to go and get it from the pharmacy. When Louis said they didn't have any money she took her wallet and gave him a few banknotes. Louis realized this was a first time in a long while he finally saw a banknote that wasn't crumpled up and dirty.

He didn't understand much of what she said his mother had – or at least, what she thought his mother might have – but he was thankful for her help. The meds gave her a bit more energy and she could at least come out of bed every now and then, though not often. The friend disappeared out of sight after a while and Louis was left with no one to help him take care of his sick mum and his two little sisters. He was seventeen by this time.

This was also the year he'd meet Curt. Curt, who had seen him moping around the school grounds and decided to give the guy a spliff so he could get a break. They got talking and Louis started to skip classes so he could see Curt. He knew Curt wasn't the kind of guy his mum would be proud of seeing Louis with, but he didn't care. Curt liked him, he was nice, and he was older than Louis. Finally he had a male figure to look up to instead of a weaker or younger woman he had to take care of. After a while he realised he was developing a crush on Curt, and one night when Louis had been pretty drunk Curt had kissed him. Louis hadn't been sure if it was  _really_  what he wanted though... At least at the time. They had sex that night too, it had been Louis first time. Not very romantic and it had hurt Louis a lot, but it was worth it. Now he didn't know where he would be without Curt. He had taken Louis under his wing, gave him ways to earn money a lot faster than he would've been able to do while still in school, and made Louis forget about all the crap going on at his house for a few moments a week.

Louis remembered how he had to tell his mum after a while that he had dropped out of school. She had been so tired however that she didn't really pay attention to what he was saying and waved it off with a "that's good sweetie" and gave him a few pounds to buy some groceries. He didn't bother telling her that it was nine in the evening and the shops would be closed by now, or that he didn't need to go grocery shopping because he had already done so, and that if he did spend this money they wouldn't have enough money for the rest of the week; it wouldn't make any difference for his mother anyway. She wouldn’t understand what he was saying.

He continued tapping on his phone, still beating candy crush levels. It frustrated him, how his life had gone. Who would've thought the happy boy he once was would now be sitting here, aged twenty-one, holding an eighteen year old kid captive in order to get some money for his boyfriend who fucked up a drug deal?

Yeah. No one really.

It frustrated him even more that Harry wasn't the same guy as him. As in, not someone who had been through the same shit as him. What did Harry do to earn the life he was leading? Everything was perfect; he had a good house, probably girls throwing themselves at his feet, his own freaking recording studio, which his dad gave him for his eighteenth birthday according to the tabloids, his very own car, household staff, big parties all the time... And Louis, Louis had nothing. Louis did have a boyfriend, yeah, but that was about it. Curt was the only guy he could talk to; and even to Curt he knew he couldn't say everything. He had zero friends, his money situation was shit, his home situation was shit – they were at the verge of getting kicked out, actually.

Alright, Harry did have one minor setback in his life and that was that he had gotten kidnapped, Louis supposed. But it wasn't even that bad. They didn't really hurt him, or scare him or whatever. He had a place to eat, it wasn't very cold in here – especially not with his warm jacket (Louis was shivering in his cold tee and wished he had the money for a winter jacket like Harry's), and all of this would soon be over anyway. His dad would pay them the money and Harry would never have to see him, Curt or any of the other men again.

Except for in court, that was. Louis swallowed. He was sure Harry wasn't going to keep quiet about who had held him captive; but then again, Curt and Louis would be long gone by the time Harry got home. They would've fled the country, probably relaxing in a Jacuzzi already and spending the money they had earned. And they weren't completely stupid. Louis was always wearing his beanie to try and prevent hairs falling out of his head; he wore gloves in order to avoid leaving finger prints, and he had only told Harry his first name. Not his last. And for all Harry know, Louis wasn't even his real name. (Actually telling the kid his real name had been a slip on Louis' end; he was supposed to say his name was Dave, or something, but when he saw the kid for the first time feeling so uneasy he wanted to give him at least a little bit of comfort and honesty in this situation. Now the pity he felt for Harry was long gone, though.)

Louis groaned when he saw he had used up all of his lives. "So," he then said to Harry. "You hungry? I'm going to fetch us something to eat." He walked out of the room without really waiting for Harry's reply. The boy didn't have a choice anyway; if Louis said he was going to eat, he was going to eat. It was as simple as that. He stomped down the stairs angrily. Why the fuck was he feeling so guilty about the way he behaved?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes, so, what did you guys think of Louis' back story? Understand him a bit for what he's doing or still think he's a dick for treating Harry the way he does? Lemme know if you want, I'm curious!
> 
> And as always, see you next week, and please don't forget to vote if you liked this chapter! (;
> 
> Xx.~  
> Mirthe


	8. Six

"He wants to fucking what?" Curt said through his teeth. He had decided to come back from his other business to check on how things were going, and now this? The man looked down for a short second, took a deep breath and repeated what he had said. Curt sank back into his chair and sighed. "Well fuck," he said. "Fuck. That's unexpected. Maybe the kid was right after all." He looked up. "Get the fuck out and tell Louis to get his arse over here," he then said. The man nodded his head and scurried out of the room, in search for Louis. Curt allowed himself to show his concerns for the few seconds he was alone. He rubbed his eyes and rested his head in his hands. "Well shit," he muttered again.

"What's up? He said it was urgent," Louis said. He had soft pink cheeks because of the cold outside. "I was on my break. Good to have you here again though." Louis smiled a bit. He missed Curt every time when he had to leave. He didn't mind having to be in charge, it was just nicer if Curt was there to back him up. Actually, it was just nice to have Curt there. Mostly.

"He wants to fucking negotiate about the amount," Curt said. Louis froze slightly. Harry's dad didn't want to pay? "Don't you think that's odd? Maybe there is more behind it, like he wants to trace us or something. Negotiating means having contact, so they probably think they can catch us if we do indeed allow them to reach out to us..." Curt trailed off. "What do you think?"

Louis let out a puff of breath, surprised Curt asked him for his opinion. "I don't know. I mean, Harry did say something about this, didn't he? What if his dad really does think two mill is too much? Harry didn't look at all too... Sad in the picture..." This time it was Louis who trailed off as he thought back to the picture. Shit. Hadn't harry been showing that cute soft smile? What if... He voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Ridiculous. His dad would never think something like that of his own son. Would he?" Curt tapped his chin. "Hm. We have to be very careful. Any decision we make right now could actually be fatal." Louis scratched his head.

"What if they really do think this though? Like, I know it's a small chance, but what if he suspects his son of setting this all up just to get some money? I don't know, maybe Harry is a very greedy person." This sounded odd, even when Louis didn't really know Harry it didn't seem to fit in with the rest of his character.

"He doesn't seem like a stuck up little shit, if I'm honest. Seems like a pretty normal guy."

"He did smile in the picture though," Louis retorted. "Maybe he doesn't mind being here all that much." Curt nodded, then he grinned.

"Well, let's go ask him shall we?"

-

Harry felt odd. He didn't know exactly what it was, he just knew that he was feeling... uneasy. And not because of the situation was in, although that could be one of the causes. His stomach was just so... He didn't know how to put it. He wanted to go home, to get out of this chair, to be able to move around or just lay down. He wanted to eat something, he wanted to drink, he wanted something to take his mind of this dull nothingness which his days had turned in to. But most of all... Harry eyed the toilet. When was the last time he had... Pooped?

The toilet was gross and it barely flushed – Harry was grateful it had a lid, otherwise the stench of pee would've been even worse by now. He didn't recall pooping however, and although it seemed like something petty, his stomach was really starting to hurt right now.

He recognized noises outside of the room indicating someone had come upstairs. It wasn't very loud since the walls were pretty thick, but the room was deafening silent and Harry had trained himself the past few days to notice it if someone was coming up the stairs – which he had figured must have been right around the corner – and towards the door.

Because they always came right inside when they came upstairs, and he never heard them going around and about doing something else while they were upstairs, he figured he –

His thoughts were rudely interrupted as the door slammed open.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Curt said. If Harry hadn't been so distracted because of his problem he would've laughed at the saying, which seemed to come right of a very predictable movie. This wasn't a movie however. In a movie they never spoke about how much the characters had to poop. Harry stifled a groan.

"I have to poop," he then blurted out. "Real bad. Like, I've had to since the last few days but you guys never gave me any privacy and now it's really starting to hurt and I want to poop but I don't want to do it here because the toilet doesn't flush that well and it's already bad enough to have to take in the pee stench every time I go and pee but I just – "

Curt and Louis had stopped in their tracks, obviously not expecting this. Then Louis nudged Curt. "He has to poop," Louis said.

"I heard that the first time he said it himself," Curt snapped. "How do we know it's not just an attempt to escape?" He eyed Harry warily.

"Because maybe he just really has to poop," Louis chimed in. "I also wouldn't be able to poop if my kidnappers never gave me my very much needed toilet time." Curt sighed deeply.

"Fine. I'll have one of the men pick up some laxatives on their way. In the meantime however..." he took a step closer to Harry and the boy cringed without wanting to. The man just... Really got to him.

"Why doesn't your dad want to pay what we said he should?" he said to Harry.

"What?" Harry said, his eyes going wide. "He's really not going to- "

"Oh don't play the victim here." Harry blinked.

"Technically, Curt," Louis started but he stopped when Curt put his hand up.

"Don't try to play smart with me here, Lou," he said. Then he turned to Harry. "Your  _daddy_ ," he spat out, "doesn't want to pay the amount. No. Instead, he wants to  _negotiate_." He made a grossed out face. Harry didn't say anything. Instead he just got very white. "Oh don't look so shocked," Curt said. "You already said it beforehand didn't you? That daddy didn't love you enough to pay that much?" Harry didn't reply.

"Curt," Louis said, sounding concerned. "I don't think that's why he's not saying anything." He walked towards the boy. "Harry, mate, you alright there?"

"Yeah," Harry brought out. "Just a lot of pain... In my... Stomach," he brought out. Louis sighed.

"He has to poop Curt," he said for the second time.

"Alright, alright, I'll make a call for a laxative right away. We'll be back," Curt replied annoyed. Louis nodded, relieved and started to untie Harry. "What on earth are you doing? The door is still open!"

"Come on, look at the kid. You really think he's in shape to make a run for it?"

"I do think he could be faking all of this crap, yeah," Curt said.

"Well, I think you're not looking clearly," Louis said, ignoring the fact Curt had actually used the word crap to assess this situation. By this time he had gotten Harry loose, and Harry immediately slumped in his chair, crossing his arms over his belly and let out a big groan. Louis shot an annoyed look at Curt and immediately looked away from him again. "See? He didn't even notice your gun." Curt put his pistol back in his jacket and got his cell phone out.

"Fine, fine. You take care of him," he said while already stomping out. "Yeah hey, Richard, go to the store and pick up some laxatives for me would ya. No not for me you dumb idiot, I meant for..." then his voice got too far away to hear.

"Hey," Louis said while he crunched in front of Harry. "It'll be okay. Shhh. It'll be fine. The pain will be gone soon." Harry nodded with gritted teeth, beads of sweat on his forehead. Louis shook his head. If only he didn't care about this boy he would've laughed at the whole situation.

Wait. What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I'm sorry it's such a short chapter, but to make it up to you I'll make the next one longer yeah? Promised! (: 
> 
> See you next week! And again, don't forget to vote if you liked this chapter! c: It'll help me so much, thanks!
> 
> Xx.~  
> Mirthe


	9. Seven

It was evening, a few days after Curt had given him some much needed laxatives, and Harry had just been tied loose by Louis. Louis had let Harry eat by himself, leaving him with the food and locking the door as he went on 'other business'. Harry didn't care about what that other business was, really. He didn't.

Not one bit.

Maybe he was going to his girlfriend or something. 

Not like he cared though.

As he still tried to convince himself he wasn't curious as to what Louis was going to do that was keeping Harry from being able to spend time with him - and if it had something to with a girlfriend or not - he paced up and down the room. He had gotten little time to really walk around up till now, since they usually placed a guard before his door at night who always heard it if Harry wasn't on his mattress. He felt scolded like a dog sometimes, the way those men treated him. What were they afraid of if he walked around at night anyway? That he would escape?

Harry huffed. And what if he would? Not like he would ever be able to, since there were way too many men in the building and Harry had no idea where he could go when he - if he - would ever manage to get out of the building, but alright.

That still didn't explain what Louis had left him for though. The past few days he had stayed with Harry during dinner, chatting for a bit. He was a nice guy, or at least, Harry thought he was. If he didn't remind himself of the fact Louis was part of the reason he was here, he could convince himself that Louis was a nice guy.

"God fucking dammit, kid," Curt said as he barged in, and Harry jumped a bit with a startled squeak. Curt seemed taken aback too as he saw Harry wasn't in his chair, but instead at the other end of the room.

Right in front of the door, that was now wide open.

Harry was as startled as Curt however, and before he could react Curt had taken a few long steps towards him and took him roughly by the arm. "How the fuck did you get loose?" he hissed.

"I.. He.. Got me loose. To eat. Food," Harry brought out, pointing at the plate still left untouched with the arm that wasn't being crushed at the moment. He was still afraid of Curt, even though he didn't like to admit him to himself. He didn't feel safe around the man. Didn't trust him one bit.

Of course that wasn't really strange, given… everything. Harry was certain however that, had he come across Curt in a random street in the middle of the day, he still would've crossed over so he could avoid the man. Curt just oozed out a bad personality or something. Harry had no idea what Louis ever saw in him. Why he would ever work with a man like that. Unless Louis was the same type of guy of course, only he hid it better. Harry tried to swallow with his suddenly very dry throat.

Curt roughly dragged Harry to the chair and tied him up again, tighter than needed. The ropes tugged at Harry's skin but he made no sound or movement to show his discomfort. Wouldn't - couldn't - do Curt the satisfaction.

"So tell me," Curt said in a grim voice, his face close to Harry's after he was done with the ropes. "Why hasn't your daddy paid up yet?" Harry willed himself not to look away, but failed as he looked at his lap, tears welling up in his eyes.

"He hasn't?" he whispered, barely audible. Curt took a step back.

"This negotiation," he then said slowly. "It's all a set-up, isn't it? To get an idea of where I might be located, to get an idea to where you might be. To get a chance to..." He trailed off.

"It's a set-up," he then repeated.

"Why on earth is the door- Oh." Louis stopped in the doorway as he saw Curt standing in front of Harry, who looked quite miserable if Louis was honest. His curls that had been so shiny when he had seen him for the first time at the airport were now flat on his head, his cheeks were hollow and white and he had dark circles under his eyes. Louis blinked. It was the first time he had really noticed all of this, but-

"You," Curt interrupted his train of thought as he snapped at him. "You let him  _loose_. You let him walk around in here freely,  _without anyone standing guard._ " Louis looked taken aback at the venom in Curt's voice.

"Yeah, so? He was locked up tight wasn't he? It's not as if he could do that much harm being on his own in here."

"Oh couldn't he?" Curt said softly, threatening. "And what if he had dived through the door at the first moment someone would've opened it, maybe knocking that person out in the process too so he wouldn't be followed? How would that person be prepared for such an attack if everyone assumed he would be tied up in his chair?"

Louis fell silent.

"Or what if," Curt continued. "What if he had broken his plate to pieces by smashing it on the concrete floor? Used it as a weapon on anyone who opened that door?"

Harry eyed the plate. He could've done that? Why didn't he? Shit! Now he was never going to get another opportunity like this. Shit, shit, shit!

Louis' eyes went wide. "I didn't think-"

"Exactly," Curt snapped. "You didn't. It could've been me, you know. I could've been lying dead on the floor right now. And it would have been all," he took a step towards Louis. "Your," while taking another step. "Fault," he said, his face close to Louis'. Louis went white and tried to stammer an apology. "Save it," Curt said as he put his hand up, turning away from him. "Save it for the walls, mate. I've had enough of you trying to cross me time and time again. You could have  _killed_  me, you know?" Curt strode out of the room with big strides. "You'll just have to spend the night here and figure out what exactly it was that you did wrong. Oh and also," he turned around. "I am not fucking negotiating with his dad." He gestured towards Harry. "Tomorrow I will double the amount."

Harry's eyes bulged and Louis gasped. Then the door slammed closed with a loud 'bang', and then Louis and Harry were locked up together.

\--

Harry woke up with a jolt and sat up straight. A tiny ray of light shined through the door, too far to illuminate any part of the room. He felt the hard mattress underneath him and the cold, stone wall to his right, reminding him of where he was.

He was startled as he felt a movement to the left of him, but quickly calmed down as he remembered it was Louis. He had felt too bad to let the boy sleep on the stone cold floor or in the chair, so he had told him to come and lay down on the mattress with him. It wasn't much of an improvement but at least it was something, and Harry was glad he had finally some form of heat to keep him a bit warmer tonight.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he studied the small shape next to him. He had never really stood right next to Louis, but now they were laying so close to each other he saw how small the boy actually was. It was quite disturbing really.

Wait. What was disturbing about that? ... Disturbing? Something had been disturbing. He frowned. Harry didn't even know what he had been thinking about a few seconds before, as he was way too tired to follow his own train of thoughts. All these past days had taken a huge toll on him. He sighed and laid back down on the mattress again, adjusting his position so he wouldn't disrupt Louis in his sleep. He felt a strange comfort in the boy being there. Somehow he felt... Safe? Was that weird? When was the last time he had ever felt safe since his mum had...? Sighing again he tried to imagine how the situation at home must be like right now. Would his dad be worried? Yeah, of course he would be, but why? Was it for show, to let the cops and the media know that he wasn't just a stone-cold dad who didn't really care about his son, or was it for real?

Harry had never really seen his dad distressed, except for the period after his mum had passed. Harry had still been little, so he didn't remember much of it. The thing that was most vivid in his mind was her smile though. Her beautiful smile, her laugh.

He also remembered black hair, falling softly over her shoulders. He sees his dad laughing at her while she was making silly faces, wearing an apron and baking pancakes.

He remembered her reading to him at night, stopping when she noticed he was almost asleep and giving him a kiss on his forehead. He remembered always being able to catch a hint of her scent. He didn’t remember her scent anymore though.

But he what he did still remember was that one day in particular, where his brother came to get him from class and they had to go home early. Harry didn't really understand what was going on at that time but he did know it was something bad, because Jake wasn't busy trying to annoy Harry like he used to, and he was holding his hand the whole ride back home.

He remembers seeing his dad in his chair a few days later, red eyes and a hairy chin. He thought that was strange, because he had never seen his dad with hair on his chin before. The hair on his head was messed up and his clothes were stained, crumpled. He also smelled pretty bad, and Harry remembered how he missed his mum during all of this. How he wanted her to come back home and fix dad, fix Jake.

He remembered the funeral, a speech from someone saying how she got ripped out of the middle of her life way too early, how drunk driving should be punished more severely. He remembered everyone being dressed in black, he remembered the day being rainy and grey, he remembered the house staying dark because all the blinds were closed, everywhere, on orders of his father.

And he remembered how after a while he had to go back to school again, only from now on being driven by a chauffeur instead of his own mum. He remembered how the first time he got in the back seat of the car he was excited because it was strange, and new, but he also remembered his disappointment as he realized this driver wouldn't have any funny conversations, and wouldn't play "I see I see what you can't see" with him. 

Harry smiles at the memory of him and his mum playing games. His smile fades when he remembers how badly everything changed back at home after her passing. How his dad grew distant and cold, and he rarely saw him laugh anymore the way he did in Harry's first memory. How he and Jake got shipped off to boarding school so his dad could throw himself into work even more passionately without being bothered by his two sons.

Harry and Jake both handled all of this very differently. Jake grew into a pretty problematic kid. He was always there when something had gone down at the boarding school, always the one to get into trouble. Harry on the other hand was the quiet one. Not just around the kids, but around the adults too.

Harry wasn't very smart, or very stupid. He wasn't someone to disrupt the lessons but he also wasn't a tattle tale. Harry was just... There. The only times the teacher would really notice him was if he got bullied by his older brother, and even that recognition was short lived. Never in his life had Harry had a moment where he could really stand out in a group. He was never picked first for gym, he was never the one who had a lot of friends, or who would get invited to an exciting party. He was just never... The one.

Until Louis and Curt came along, and suddenly they picked  _him_  over his brother. Not like this was an ideal situation, but at least someone finally noticed him. That was something, right? His dad had been neglecting him a lot for the past years; Harry doubted if he even knew about the studio Harry had gotten for his last birthday, supposedly from his father. At least, that was what the tabloids said. As far as Harry knew it was just an old studio, out of use because of the inconvenient location, and he had asked for a key. He did vaguely remember someone coming up to him, asking if he was happy with his birthday present his father had given him and Harry, not knowing what to say, had merely smiled his broad smile and nodded while panicky searching his brain for what his father might have gotten him that others knew of but he didn't.

He sighed and carefully turned around, again trying not to wake Louis. Suddenly the other one shifted and Harry froze, thinking he had awoken him, but Louis merely turned towards Harry and cuddled up to him. This didn't relax Harry one bit; since when was the bigger person the little spoon? Whatever. He relaxed with another sigh. At least while Louis was here he was sure that Curt wouldn't come in and hurt Harry. While Louis was here, he would be safe.

Carefully he shifted a bit again. Safe. Hm. That was a nice thought. He was safe. With that thought on his mind, Harry fell back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my dear larries (and maybe also non-larries? Idk, no judgement of course)
> 
> As promised, a longer chapter to make up for last time c:
> 
> And how about that huh? Harry is finally feeling safe. Poor boy has been trough pretty much already, it's time for him to finally be at ease for a bit. Don't you think? Comment?
> 
> And of course, see you next week, and don't forget to vote if you liked this chapter! :D
> 
> Love Xx.~  
> Mirthe


	10. Eight

**_* Just saying, there will be a_ ** **tiny _bit of soft smut in this chapter. If you don't want to read it just skip the part between the *** stars. Happy reading (: *_**

After another couple of hours filled with restless sleep Harry woke up. He slowly opened his eyes, only to be met with darkness. The spot next to him was now empty and cold; Louis must have already left.

Clumsily, Harry stood from the mattress and stretched, groaning. He was feeling stiff after doing so little all the time. One of the perks of not being daddy's favourite was that the press sometimes seemed to forget about him, and usually Harry could walk everywhere he went without getting bothered much. It was not like he would have minded if more people talked to him; they just didn't. Now however, he barely moved all day.

Suddenly he heard some shuffling somewhere else in the room. Harry froze. Was that a mouse? Or maybe something else? It wasn't like Harry could picture much worse than a mouse in this state of mind, but whatever. It better not be a mouse, because he was certain he wouldn't close another eye if he knew those things were running around here as well.

There was a big flash, followed by some dim light and Harry squinted at Louis who was now standing near the light switch. "Morning," Louis said. "Didn't want to wake you up at first but figured you were awake now, so." He gestured towards the pathetic bulb hanging from the ceiling, barely shedding any light in the room. Harry didn't say anything, he just nodded. He found that he had rather not wanted Louis to be here; every day he savoured those few precious moments between waking up and getting tied to the chair. He didn't want to lose these short lived moments of limited freedom. Although it had been nice having Louis sleep next to him... But he favoured freedom above anything else now. Being able to move around, to swing his arms, was a new found privilege for Harry. "I um...," Louis scratched his head. "Curt unlocked the door a bit earlier so..." He trailed off, not knowing how to say it.

"Alright," Harry said, feeling relieved. Maybe Louis would just leave and not tie him up just yet. His heart sank to his feet however as he saw Louis motioning towards the middle of the cold room. Harry shivered and slowly made his way towards the chair, dragging his feet, trying to stall as much as possible.

He couldn't make those few steps last forever though, and after a few seconds he slumped down in the chair, already putting his hands behind him like he was told to do so many times before. It felt like a habit to him now. The days had turned into a dull grey wall and strained shoulders. He didn't struggle or speak as Louis tied him up, and the latter felt guilt gnawing at his heart. Louis had originally thought he'd let the boy loose for just a few extra moments but he couldn't risk pissing off Curt again. His orders had been clear: report as soon as the boy had awoken, after tying him up. no exceptions, no excuses. So, that was what Louis did. He didn't look back as he closed the door and locked it, unable to face Harry. He was already feeling guilty enough that he had to leave him locked up in there. And damn, it had been so cold last night! At first when he found himself cuddled up to Harry he had felt odd, guilty even because of Curt, but when he noticed how cold the room actually was he gladly stayed in his spot.

Then, after a bit, someone came over giving him Curt's orders. Louis couldn't crawl next to Harry after that anymore so he kept himself busy, walking around for a bit or sitting in Harry's chair. He only sat in the chair for a few minutes though. Then he started to feel weird and got up again, pacing up and down the room in order to get warm.

By now he had arrived at Curt's office, so Louis knocked on the door and waited till Curt called that he could come in. "So. The boy awake? He tied up?" Curt asked Louis as he entered. The latter merely nodded.

"I'm going to get some breakfast," Louis announced. Then he turned around and was ready to briskly walk out of the room, only to be stopped when Curt called his name. He turned back around and Curt got out of his chair, walking towards Louis.

"As soon as I closed the door I was regretting my decision already," he whispered in Louis ear as he engulfed him in a hug. "I wasn't thinking straight, I just.. You made me so, so very mad and well..." Curt shrugged.

"Then why didn't you come back and let me out?" Louis asked in a small voice. He liked the feeling of Curt's arms around him since it didn't happen that often, but it made him feel insecure at the same time, too. He remembered how he had been cuddling up to Harry last night and suddenly the cold didn't seem like such a good excuse anymore. He felt guilty.

"Because I couldn't do that Lou, I just... I had to keep up my appearance for the boy. You know I would never want to hurt you." He softly stroked Louis' cheek and Louis' guilt got even worse. "I just didn't know how to fix it and I'm so glad you came here to apologise for what you did because it just... It has been keeping me up all night, wondering what I did to get you so mad at me." Louis felt confused.

"I wasn't... I wasn't mad at you?"

"You weren't?" Curt asked and his face lit up. "Oh that's so great Lou," he then said as he hugged the smaller boy tightly. "That's great, that just... Ah, that makes me very happy." He released Louis again and grinned.

A knock was hard on the door and Curt softly pushed Louis a step back, the look on his face hardening. "Come in," he said in a stern voice. A man entered but Louis didn't bother listening to what they were talking about. He felt so relieved that their fight had been cleared up. He hated fighting with people, especially if it was about petty little things. He didn't even remember what he and Curt had been fighting about; if he was completely honest he didn't even remember getting mad at Curt. In fact, he had actually thought Curt had been mad at him instead. Whatever.

With newly gained confidence because the air between the two of them had been cleared he took a deep breath. "Curt?" He interrupted the conversation bluntly. "If you have the time I'd like to speak to you about something." He ducked his head between his shoulders. "It's pretty important..." He trailed off as he was met with silence. "But of course this is important too. Let me know when you have time, yeah?" Finally, Curt showed a small smile.

"But of course Lou. I will send for you immediately after I've finished some other business, yeah?" Louis nodded and he perked up when he heard Curt had used his nickname while there was someone else with them. He smiled and walked out of the room, out of the building. Arriving at the parking lot he took the keys to the car out of his pocket. First he would go and buy some extra blankets for Harry, then he would go and get the both of them some breakfast. He didn't even care if Curt would make him pay for those blankets himself; Harry needed them.

\--

After dropping off the blankets and giving Harry something to eat he went back to Curt's office. The door was closed however, and he could hear urgent voices speaking from within. Better not to interrupt. He sank down in the nearest chair and opened Candy Crush.

While playing he kept a close eye on the door. People were coming in and out; he even made eye contact with Curt once which made him sit up straight, but Curt ignored him and merely closed the door. When all his lives in the game were done for Louis sat in silence. What to do now?

Time passed, and to Louis it felt like he had been waiting for hours. Finally though, Curt opened the door and motioned for him to come in. With a sigh of relief he got up, stretched and then hurried inside with an impatient looking Curt closing the door behind him.

"Alright mate, you better make this quick. I don't have much time." Louis took a deep breath. Alright then. He had wanted to ease in to the subject, but now he could better just cut right to the chase.

"I want you to reconsider taking the negotiation," he blurted out. Well. There it was. Out in the open. Curt sighed, looking annoyed.

"Louis, there is no time for something like that. This whole thing is already dragging way longer than expected; do you know how many extra expenses we need to cover? We can't lower the amount."

"Alright," Louis nodded. "But then at least don't double it."

"Louis...," Curt started but Louis interrupted him.

"No, listen to me! You can't just suddenly double the amount! If he didn't want to pay the two mill, who says he's going to pay four? It will only take us even longer like this! And the longer we wait, the more possibility they will find us. The idea was to get quick money, that were your own words. You can't just make them...," his voice cracked and Curt started to interrupt Louis, but Louis couldn't let him. Quickly, he continued. "Please, love, I am begging you not to do this. The two mill will easily cover all of our expenses,  _and_  give you the money you need, so why raise it? There's no need to!" There was a moment of silence and Louis' face flushed softly when he realised what he had just said.

"You..." Curt said slowly. "You're begging me?" He then mocked. "Begging? Oh boy," he started to laugh. "Please do not tell me you're starting to care for this boy or something, are ya? Begging? Please." Curt snickered again. "You know such shit won't work with me. Go get something to eat or whatever, or go get some sleep. Or do you need to get laid?" Curt asked and his eyes darkened. "That it, then? Your arse hasn't had enough? I must say I'm not that surprised to be honest, I have been pretty busy lately. You need a good fuck? Maybe you should be begging for that instead. Or I could make you beg."

"No Curt, I just...," Louis interjected but Curt ignored him.

"Now you brought it up, I might be in the need of a good fuck too if I'm honest," Curt said and his tongue flickered over his lips as his eyes scanned Louis up and down. "How badly do you want the amount to be lowered?" Louis looked to the floor and bit his lip. Curt sighed. "Damn, I don't have enough time to fuck your tight little arse now,  _love_ ," he said, mimicking the pet name Louis had used. "But I sure do have enough time for another job below the belt." He raised his eyebrows, and when Louis didn't interject he started to unbutton his jeans. With a grin he walked to the door and locked it, turning towards Louis. When he stood in front of him he put his hands behind his head. "Well? Get on with it then, will ya?" 

**_***_ **

A satisfied smirk formed upon his lips as Louis unbuttoned the rest of Curt's jeans, pulled them down and sank to his knees. Louis bit his lip again. He wasn't in the mood for giving a blowjob at all; actually he never really liked giving those, since they always made him gag way too much which got his eyes all puffy up and red. But, Harry had already been through too much as it was. And if this would help getting Curt to change his mind, well... He took a deep breath and pulled Curt's underwear down as well, eyeing the huge erection now in front of him.

"Like I just said, I don't have that much time, so come on now." Louis closed his eyes as his lips hit the messy tip. The foreskin wasn't pulled back yet and combined with the pre-cum it made a slimy mess on Louis' tongue, causing him to gag already before he had even taken it all the way in.

"Ohh yes that's good," Curt said as his hands made their way into Louis' hair. Louis knew that all he had to do now was to keep his mouth open and swallow as much as he could while trying to keep his gagging to a bare minimum; once Curt had a grip on his hair he would take over and decide the rhythm he wanted to fuck Louis' mouth in, until he was finished. "Oh,  _fuck_ that feels so good," Curt panted as he sped up. Louis couldn't help but feel like choking every time Curt hit the back of his mouth. Keep breathing Lou, he thought. Keep breathing or else you will choke completely when he- his eyes widened as his mouth got filled up with warm, sticky sperm. Well. That was fast? A lot faster than usual. Not like he was complaining though. Not at all. He swallowed as much as he could, since he knew Curt liked it better that way and whimpered slightly as Curt let go of his hair and ruffled a hand through it. 

"Damn I needed that," Curt said with a grin. He sighed contently and pulled up his trousers himself, walking back behind the desk while buttoning them. Louis got up from his knees and wiped his mouth, checking how badly he had spilled on his clothes. Hm, not even that bad. Only a few drops. 

**_***_ **

Curt threw him a small bottle of water but Louis wasn't fast enough to catch it; with a loud 'thud' it fell on the floor after it had slipped through his shaky fingers.

"I'm not sure whether I will indeed be lowering the amount." Louis bit his lip. "But that little act you pulled on me just there will definitely be taken into account while I reconsider." Curt winked and grinned at Louis as he motioned towards the door. "Always a pleasure doing business with you, Tomlinson."

Louis heart sank to his feet. It had all been for nothing. His mouth still felt sticky and the salty taste was still on his lips, but Curt had already gotten what he wanted and that was it. The next time he would talk to Curt, the man would look him straight in the eye and say "I have reconsidered it, Louis, and I think it is a bad idea." And that would be that. He turned towards the door and tried to pull it open roughly, forgetting Curt had locked it. With burning cheeks he turned the key and then dashed out, ruffling his hair a bit, hoping he didn't look too bad. Curt's loud laugh followed him out of the building, on to the parking lot, inside of his car, and it was only after a bit of driving that the radio music finally drowned the sound out of his mind. He parked the car at the side of the road and let Adele fill his mind with her voice, closing his eyes and falling in a restless sleep. Right before he drifted off however he realised this wasn't the first time he felt glad Curt was leaving the next day, though the difference was that he didn't even feel guilty about it this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Louis, he tries so hard and gets so far.. But in the end...
> 
> What did you think? Any predictions for the future? Think Louis is right and Curt won't lower the bid or do you disagree and think Curt will change his mind?
> 
> See you next week of course, and again, please vote if you liked this chapter for me? Thanks so much!
> 
> Xx.~  
> Mirthe


	11. Nine

"I trusted you! I fucking... Trusted...!" Harry woke up with a jolt as he heard Louis' screaming. "How could you? How on earth could you fucking do something like that?"  
The answer was too soft for Harry to hear. He was fully awake now though, listening closely to the conversation going on just outside of his door. "You could've at least left me out of this bullshit. How am I now... Fuck you. Just.. Just fuck you."  
Suddenly Harry realised Louis had been talking on the phone and was now coming in. He didn't even have the chance to pretend he was still sleeping and hadn't heard, but when Louis turned on the light he saw that Louis didn't need him to. Louis locked the door behind him and put the key in his pocket, stomping towards Harry.  
He wasn't sure what Louis was going to do to him, being as upset as he was, and he had expected a lot, but the last thing he had thought would happen was that Louis fell down on the mattress, crawled into Harry's lap, and cried.  
Harry patted Louis' head, feeling a bit awkward. What was going on exactly? After what seemed like an hour to Harry but was probably more like a couple of minutes, Louis sat up and dried his eyes, wiping his nose on his own shirt.  
"I was just," Louis started to mumble. "I was just going to sur.. surprise him when I suddenly saw that he... he was with this... this guy," he said through his sobs. "And at fi... first I thought it was ju... just another business partner or whatever but then... then I saw... saw.. them kiss..." Louis' sobbing worsened and he couldn't talk for a few seconds.  
"Shhh," Harry said as he rubbed Louis on his back. "Shhhhh. Breathe Louis, breathe. Shhhh." Louis calmed down a bit and continued his story.  
"I didn't know the guy, but I did see he had this.. green arm, like, first I thought it was just a sleeve or some weird lightning or whatever but then I saw it was this green tattoo, and I just... I don't know, it was a guy, and they were kissing, and I just felt so betrayed..." Louis curled up as a ball on the dirty mattress and Harry continued to stroke his back.  
"How could I ever be so stupid? Like how could I ever be just so..." Louis hiccupped. "How could I not notice this? Apparently it has been going on for quite some time already and I just.."  
Harry felt sorry for the boy. Although he had no idea why, Louis did really seemed to care for Curt. It drove him mad to see Louis like this. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve someone like Curt. He should have someone... Someone better. Someone who actually cared about him and about how he felt, someone who actually gave a shit about what Louis' opinion was on things. Not someone like Curt, who merely used Louis as some eye candy or whatever. As something nice to fuck every once in a while. His hand balled up to a fist at that thought as he looked at Louis and Harry felt his heart ache for him. This was wrong, so, so wrong. How could anyone do something like that? How could anyone just... Betray someone's trust like this? He didn't get it.  
"Shhhhh," Harry said again as he stroked Louis' back, at loss for something better to say. "Shhhh Louis, it will be okay, you will be okay. He didn't even deserve you in the first place."  
"Don't say that!" Louis said and he burst out crying again. "Don't say something like that. Curt was so good for me, always, so good. He saved me Harry, you have no idea what my life was like before I met him. He saved me."  
Harry shook his head in disbelief. Yeah, he had an idea how Louis' life had been before. Probably poor, but okay. Probably filled with school stuff, studying, taking care of siblings at home, maybe. At least it had been drugs and violence-free. At least if he hadn't met Curt, he wouldn't be here right now, in the middle of a kidnapping. Maybe neither of them would've been here.  
"So what now, Lou?" he asked. "You going back home?"  
Louis shook his head. "I can't," he sniffed. "That's the fun part. The fucking dick used my name to pay for everything." He gestured vaguely around him. "He used my card from my bank account which I didn't even fucking know existed. If I did..." Louis shook his head. "I don't have the money to go back on my own anyway."  
"And," he continued, still hiccupping softly. "It's not just that he paid for everything; he also told everyone I'm the one in charge, that I'm the brain behind all of this. At first I thought he was just finally giving me credit, because..." Louis glanced at Harry. "Because..."  
He couldn't tell Harry it had been his idea, couldn't he? Louis frowned and looked down at the mattress, remembering how they got to pick Harry. How he, after tossing and turning at night about how he could help Curt get back the money he'd lost - he thought of everything; a robbery, taking on multiple jobs, he even thought about becoming a hooker or something - he recalled an article he'd seen somewhere about a rich man's son getting a studio for his 18th birthday and throwing an excessive party. After that thought a plan had started to form in his mind but he hadn't dared to talk about it at first. It had seemed mental to him.  
It still was mental to him now.  
Harry scraped his throat and Louis was brought back to the present.  
"Well, so, yeah," he continued awkwardly. "But now it just turns out he was making sure I would have to take the blame when we got caught. Basically."  
Harry shook his head again. How could someone ever do something like that?  
"Lou," he asked slowly. "Why... Exactly are you trying to get so much money?" He eyed Louis carefully, hoping the boy wouldn't freak out because of his question. Louis seemed to have given up completely however. He didn't care anymore how much Harry knew.  
"We need it because... Or well, Curt needs it, because he had a deal that went wrong some time ago, and like, the other person is very bad, I don't know his real name, just that they call him Dedraak. And like, he needed a lot of money, but he didn't need two million.. When I saw he wanted to ask your dad for so much money I kinda freaked myself because I thought he owed him less than one million. He calmed me down, saying it was all part of a negotiation, but then your dad wanted a negotiation and he completely freaked, saying he couldn't go lower, saying it was a scheme to find out where we were keeping you etcetera. And just.. I don't know..." he rambled. Then Louis exhaled deeply and Harry saw him relax a little bit.  
"I'm sorry Harry. I am so, so sorry that I got you into all of this mess, you're such a good person and you don't deserve all of this... I'm just, I'm so sorry. I never had any idea it would all turn out like this, just..."  
Harry shook his head.  
"You're speaking nonsense, Louis. You know what you need? You need to get a big bowl of ice cream and lots of alcohol." Harry smiled. "Once, when Taylor - he's one of my friends - when he had a very bad break up I forced him to come over to my place and fed him Ben and Jerry's until he finished like, 4 buckets or something, and after that I told him to go back home and get changed so we could go clubbing." He shook his head at the memory.   
"Man he was so pissed after that night, you know. But at least he forgot most details about what could possibly be the worst night of his life. And the next morning he quickly realised that he was happier having the worst hangover ever than having to go over to his girlfriend again and hear her whine about all sorts of things that didn't matter, so that's something I suppose." Harry grinned when he remembered how awful that morning had been for Tay. Though that was the worst hangover they'd both had in their lives they had been able to laugh about it afterwards.  
His face got sad again as he looked at Louis' face, eyes brimming with tears. Involuntarily he almost awed at how vulnerable and at the same time just how cute the boy looked. He mentally slapped himself.   
Don't.  
Suddenly, Harry felt as if he was floating above the two of them, assessing the situation. What the fuck was wrong with him? Here he was, somewhere in another country, kidnapped, held against his will, and what was he doing? Instead of trying to escape he was comforting his captor, thinking about how cute he actually was. What the fuck?  
"Listen, Louis..." he started but he was cut short as Louis started to cry again, although this time it was softly and a bit more controlled, with soft hiccups instead of raw and shaky gasps for breath.  
"And I kno- *hiccup* know that I shouldn't come to you right now, but I had no- *sniffle* nowhere else to go right now because I don't really ha- *hiccup* have anyone I hang out with besides Cu- *hiccup* Curt. And overhe- *hiccup* here isn't anyone I can really ta- *sniffle* talk to anyways..." Louis' voice trailed off. "I am so very so- *hiccup* sorry. I know you're in a way wo- *hiccup* worse situation than m-me but I just.." he looked down and started to cry louder again.  
"Shhhh," Harry said uncomfortably as he stroked his back. He did care for the boy, there was no denying that. It was a mental thought to think, but he really did. And he knew that he should probably push Louis away right now, or ask him things about where they were exactly, maybe promise Louis he would get him home if the boy could get Harry out of here. He knew he should've done something, anything, but he didn't. Instead he just sighed and pulled Louis further in his lap, cuddling him and stroking his back till he was calm again.  
He knew it was wrong, given the situation they were in, but it felt good to have Louis this close to him.  
So, very, good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Hope you liked it c:
> 
> See you next time,  
> Love Xx.~   
> Mirthe


	12. Ten

After Louis finally calmed down Harry told him to go out and get them some food. It wasn't as if he was that hungry himself; it was more like he wanted to make sure Louis would eat. He was afraid the boy would otherwise go and do something stupid, like drink himself to death on an empty stomach.

Plus, reminding him he that he still had Harry to take care off would hopefully stop him from driving his car off of a bridge. Hopefully.

So, that was why Louis was driving in the dark at ten PM to go and get some food. Because Harry had told him to. He couldn't risk ordering anything to be delivered - of course. Or well, he could, because there was this pizza place which was on their payroll, but... Louis swallowed. They were on Curt's payroll. Or were they on his? He shook his head. He had cried enough about it. Whined like a little child. He should man up, that's what he should do. Louis nodded to himself. He didn't really like the saying 'man up' though. He didn't really knew any men that could function as an example to him, anyway. He should woman up? No, that sounded stupid. Women were weak as well. People were weak creatures.

But whatever. Louis grimaced and gripped the steering wheel more tightly. He should pay attention to the road, not muse about the role of men and women in his life. Stopping at a parking spot he googled for eating spots nearby. Being just his luck there was a McDonalds not that far from where he parked. Great. He had no idea what Harry liked though. Louis shrugged and tossed his phone on the seat next to him. He'd just order the same thing twice.

After he got back and both of them had had their fill, they talked for a bit until they fell asleep on the mattress, facing each other, legs intertwined.

Harry woke up after what seemed like a mere few minutes to himself, but then he noticed the empty spot next to him. He felt the mattress; it wasn't cold yet. He must've woken up just after Louis left the bed.

After spending so many nights being guarded at night, Harry was too afraid to get up. He knew there would be a guard telling him to get back into bed again. Instead he kept himself perfectly still and tried to listen. He strained his ears as hard as he could; he closed his eyes, he held his breath, and finally, he could hear Louis' voice outside of the door, speaking softly on the phone.

He couldn't hear his words but he did notice that Louis sounded pretty stressed out. Harry felt a strong urge to get up, open the door and just hold the boy close to him... But he didn't. Somehow, Louis' discomfort did way more to Harry than he wanted to admit. 

Groaning, he turned around in the bed facing the wall. He could still hear Louis talk softly. Who was he talking to? What was it about? Was it about Curt? Or was it... Harry swallowed. Maybe it was about him? Could Louis be talking about him?

 _Look at me_ , he thought.  _Lying in bed thinking about that guy as if he's your high school crush. Geez man, get a grip._

The following moments Harry spent the night in a state of being half asleep and half awake. Sometimes he thought he was dreaming - but he wasn't sure. It could be that those figures were actually in his room looming over him, about to wake him up because he had done something he wasn't allowed to...

Whenever something like that happened Harry would wake up with a jolt and a yell, drenched in sweat. How much time had passed? Five minutes? An hour? The whole night?

Every time he woke up like that, Harry decided not to go to sleep again until Louis came back.  _If_  he would still come back that night.  _Was he still there?_  he would muse, and every time Harry would sit up straight with his back against the wall, holding his breath and keeping as still as he could. Then he would listen.

And Louis was still there, every time Harry woke. He was still there talking on his phone, softly. Sometimes Harry would imagine he heard him laugh, sometimes he thought he heard him cry. Most of the time he just heard some mumbling through the thick door and that was it.

He was so exhausted after a while that he just completely gave up on keeping himself still in fear of the guard. He sat up straight against the wall, yawned, stretched and groaned, and then put the blanket over his crossed legs, softly humming so he would keep himself awake. After a while however he fell asleep again, only to wake with a sore back and neck.

Alright, this wasn't working. He really had to go to sleep and put Louis out of his mind. Determined he laid down again, put the blanket over his shoulders and closed his eyes, right when the door opened.

Silently, Louis made his way inside, closing the door soundlessly behind him. Harry shuffled underneath his blankets. "Lou?" he asked with a raspy voice.

"Yeah, I'm here. It's me," Louis said. "Don't worry love, I've got you." Louis tiptoed to the bed and slid underneath the blanket, pushing his body up to Harry's. "Hey love," he whispered in Harry's ear. Harry sighed contently and turned himself around, facing the other.

"Hey."

There was no light in the room, but still Harry could see Lou's face. He carefully put his hand on Louis' cheek and trailed Louis' skin, from his ear to his chin. There, his thumb softly brushed over Louis' bottom lip.

This time it was Louis who let out a happy sigh and he opened his mouth slightly, looking Harry deeply in his eyes.  _Man his eyes are blue_ , Harry thought. He could see his own face mirrored in them and he smiled a tiny smile. How cute.

"Harry I...," Louis started, but Harry shushed him.

"It's okay."

Louis nodded and came a bit closer to Harry so he could snuggle his head beneath Harry's, and Harry felt Louis' small hand go over his side to his back, hugging him tightly. Harry's breath hitched as he felt Louis' tiny frame against his, their legs intertwined, their stomachs pressed together. He could feel Louis' breath on his neck and as he looked down, his breath hitched again as he saw how close their faces were. Without thinking he closed his eyes, and then he felt Louis press his lips on his own, and suddenly everything felt alright.

Suddenly, for some reason, everything was okay. Harry was calm again. He felt the stress of the last few weeks - or had it been months? Days?- slide off of him. He felt his heart slow down, and he felt their bodies melting together. The voices in his brain had gone silent, the shaking of his hands had stopped, and with Louis so close to him he didn't feel as cold as he had been feeling all this time. Everything just felt... Okay. He opened his eyes again and inched closer, and Louis looked up, his eyes still half closed but his lips slightly parted as if he knew what Harry intended to do. Wanted Harry to do it. They came closer, and closer, and Harry felt something soft being pressed against his lips and a weight on his body as he shifted to lay on his back, holding Louis’ hips, squeezing them softly…

And then, suddenly, he heard a soft 'thud' as if there was a door closing, and as he opened his eyes he saw Louis making his way inside, lighting his own path with his phone. He heard Louis sniffle a bit and Harry realised it had just been a dream.

And just like that, the calm feeling vanished again. Dammit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it :D Leave your thoughts below?
> 
> Love Xx.~  
> Mirthe


	13. Eleven

After Louis had gotten into bed with him, Harry had slept like a baby for the rest of the night. The next morning he woke up – not super rested, but it could be worse – in the middle of the matrass instead of to the side of the wall, meaning Louis must've been gone for quite a while already.

Hm, too bad... For some reason Harry hoped he would see Louis again this morning as he would open up his eyes. He sighed. He really had to stop himself from thinking like that. The dream from last night had been quite... Harry blushed as he thought about it again.

But god damn, could you blame him? It had been so vivid, with so many details... And Harry could still remember all of them. He could still feel Louis' skin underneath his fingertips, he could still imagine those soft lips being pressed against his, and he could still recall the calmness he had felt when Louis kissed him. A calmness like he had never experienced before. He could also feel his pants tighten as he thought about the dream again. He sighed. Harry missed the calm he had felt.

It wasn't like Harry had been a restless kid or whatever – he was actually a pretty calm person, shy even in some circumstances. It was more like Harry had always been pushed around by people, which had made him feel pretty anxious all the time.

And it wasn't like Harry had never kissed a guy before either...

There had been this one guy. When he was fourteen. He had been struggling with his feelings for a bit already because he felt like he was different. The showers with the rest of the boys made him feel uncomfortable and awkward. It was like he wasn't supposed to watch them, like he wasn't supposed to be there, so Harry tried to make up an excuse as often as he could. And if he couldn't, he would just be as slow as he could with changing, so he would only get there once everyone was already out. It wasn't like he had any real friends waiting for him anyway, so there was no rush to anything he did.

But then, there had been this one day... Another kid from his class had been slow as well, and Harry had secretly suspected him of doing that on purpose because he knew Harry would be slower than the others too, but he didn't dare to voice his thoughts. Why on earth would someone like Daniel wait for him?

Daniel was a nice kid. He was funny, and had a good group of friends. He was one of the few people who said hi to Harry when they saw each other in the hallway, and the thought of showering with him, it being just the two of them, made Harry way more nervous than he thought he should be.

Daniel had also been older than Harry was, two years. And that was visible in his body. While Harry was still pretty small, Daniel had already developed a bit of hair on his face and chest, and this other area Harry refused to think of until he was alone in his bed at night. Because he couldn't deny it – Daniel was a pretty boy. Dark brown eyes with long lashes and black hair; plump lips and collarbones that stuck out, and yes, even the beginning of a six pack.

So when Harry found himself alone in the shower with Daniel there was quite a bit confusion for him, but Dan had quickly calmed him down, saying he didn't need to worry about anything. Then he had taken Harry's shampoo bottle from Harry's hands and taken Harry's towel as well, laughing at Harry's confused and shocked face. Without hesitation he pushed Harry towards the showers and started washing his hair.

"I've always quite fancied your curls, you know?" he had told Harry. Harry had been so shocked he just nodded. He felt paralyzed, as every time Daniel would touch him he would feel like he got electric shocks trough his body. 

After this first shower experience they had shared many more showers together, some of them even taking place at night as everyone was asleep. For about a year and a half, everything was great; although they kept it a secret for the rest of the people, Harry didn't mind. He liked Dan, and if Dan said they shouldn't tell people because they might not agree, Harry believed him.

But, somehow, someone found out. Or well, not just anyone. Jake.

Swallowing, Harry turned around on his mattress, trying to stop his walk down memory lane. He didn't like thinking about Dan. It made him remember the bad days, too.

Because once Jake, his very own brother had found out, Dan pretended like it had been nothing. He said Harry had jumped him and he hadn't really known what to do with himself, because Harry seemed like such a fragile kid, so he went along with it.

He also said the time Jake found them kissing was the only time they had ever done anything like that.

Harry swallowed as a small tear made its way down his cheek and slid over his nose, dripping on the mattress. Man, that had hurt. He remembered looking at Dan, shock all over his face and Dan just staring back at him, face completely blank. Gone was the smile he used to love so much, gone was the twinkle in his eye, gone was the small dimple that formed below his right eye whenever Dan would laugh. Gone were all the memories they made, gone was the first time they had said 'I love you' to the other. Gone was everything.

After that, Harry had felt like a living ghost. He learned that love was nothing but cruel, that it only happened to be taken away from you. First his mum left him, then the dad he first knew went away, then Jake had turned on him and now Dan... Harry had been a complete mess.

What made it even worse was that Jake never made him live this down. From this moment on Jake didn't refer to Harry with his name anymore. He would just call him  _faggot_ , or  _it_. And after a while Harry started to believe Jake. Jake was his older brother; he should know. If he said being gay was so wrong, and no one really spoke against him, than it must be true. And if Dan said he had just been going along with Harry because he hadn't known what else to do... Then that must mean Harry was an awful person.

He drew out a shaky breath. It didn't do to dwell on thoughts... He knew he shouldn't do this to himself, but now he finally started it was like he couldn't stop the memories from popping up in his head anymore.

Him at the boarding school. Him with his head in the toilet. Him with his clothes and hair dripping wet, making his way to his room as fast as he could while everyone looked.

Him going home for the first time after Jake had found out about him and Dan. Jake calling him faggot in front of his dad, and Samuel doing nothing to stop Jake with his homophobic behaviour.

Him looking at Jake who came home, showing off his first tattoo to him, proud. Him nodding silently as Jake threatened him he would kill him if he told dad about it. Him believing Jake would really do it, would really hurt Harry.

Him looking as he saw how his dad noticed Jake's tattoo for the first time, and merely shaking his head. Him seeing how Jake was becoming a stranger walking around in their own house. Him trying to drown out the music of the parties Jake gave while dad was away, because he had a head ache and a huge fever and he just wanted some sleep.

Harry remembered all of this, and more. He remembered Jake getting more and more tattoos, getting stranger and stranger friends, drinking more, smoking more. And Harry knew for certain there were also some spliffs in between those cigarettes. Secretly though, of course. Dad couldn't know.

But just as the tattoos, their dad also found out about the parties, and the drinking, and the drugs. And again, he just shook his head and didn't seem to care. Instead he started weekly evenings of drinking scotch and smoking cigars together with Jake. Harry had never been asked to join them, but he didn't care. He couldn't afford to care. The smell of the cigars made him sick anyway.

But no matter how hard he tried, it hurt. Jake didn't seem to be able to do anything wrong. Even when he wouldn't show up for a couple of weeks everything would be just as normal when Jake finally did come back. Now, Jake was gone more often than present, and if he was present he created chaos all over the place; harassing the housemaids, emptying the drinking cabinet and throwing yet another party, only to be gone after a few days again. And Harry was also sure his dad was still giving Jake money. Money only used for drugs and drinking and sex most likely, because there wasn't much else which Jake did nowadays.

Harry tossed and turned. Why was he in this place right now? Why him? Why not fucking Jake himself? Why not Jake, the guy who never did anything right, the guy who was mean, and awful, and basically a horrible human being... Why did it have to be Harry who got all the bad things in life thrown at him?

Then again, he thought, if Jake was here he would more likely be the one holding someone else captive than being the victim. He sighed deeply. If Harry was completely honest to himself, he didn't really see the use of it anymore. He didn't see the use in fighting. He didn't see the use in trying to escape. He didn't see the use in waking up every damn day, because if he was completely honest to himself, he had actually felt trapped already for all his life, and he didn't even really have anything to fight for. He had nothing waiting for him to get back to. Even his best friends were people actually working for his dad. They could be fired and Harry would never see them again, he knew that.

Every god damn day he had to go through the same rhythm; he would maybe go for a run, get a shower, and go to the library. Then he would go drink some coffee or go to the studio; sometimes both, and after a while he would go back home again, watch some TV, and fall asleep. He didn't have a real job; secretly he really hoped to make it someday as a singer, but he knew that was a lost cause. Although Tay and Gabe had always supported him, they only did that because they were his friends. Sort of.

All things combined Harry just felt very lonely, and he didn't see the use of anything anymore. Life was futile; one day, he would die, and what would he have achieved? Nothing. Maybe he should be glad if his dad didn't pay up; maybe that would mean they would get sick of him and eventually just give him a bullet to swallow instead of some sickening McDonalds meal.

Harry sighed again. What was the use?

"Rise and shine, baby doll," one of the guards said as the door opened. "Get ready for a new day of doing nothing." The man laughed as he took out the ropes, ready to bind Harry. And without any struggle Harry got up, feet dragging, and sat in the chair.

What was the use?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it.
> 
> Tell me what you think of everything so far?
> 
> Love Xx.~  
> Mirthe


	14. Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,  
> I'm so sorry for not updating for ages. Here is two chapters - I hope you can forgive me?  
> I have put writing on hold for now as I have been completely swamped with homework and studying for my exams. I will continue once those are finished though, or maybe when I find some free time in between I will squeeze an extra chapter out haha.  
> Sorry!  
> Xx.~

"Harry, you have to eat something." Louis was close to giving up as Harry just shrugged.

"I told you, I'm not hungry."

"For two days straight? Harry, come on. You're not sick or anything are you?"

"No."

"Then why won’t you eat anything? For fucks sake. You're not on a hunger strike or anything right? Because if you are, you're doing it wrong."

Harry looked at Louis and stayed silent.

"Since a hunger strike would only work if you tell people you're doing one and telling them your demands they'll have to meet before you will eat again..." his voice slowly died out as he saw Harry had lost interest in him already and Louis sighed. It had all started yesterday morning. When the guard came down from waking Harry up he was laughing, saying the boy must've finally decided to cooperate with them. Louis had found this odd; it wasn't really like Harry hadn't been cooperating with them before. What on earth could that guy mean? So, Louis had gone upstairs to check on Harry, but the boy seemed normal as ever as they just chatted for a bit.

The real struggle had only arrived when he tried to give Harry his breakfast. Harry had refused to eat it, saying he wasn't hungry yet. At first Louis understood; he was probably still full from yesterday or something. It wasn't like the guy had much to do to burn carbs, anyway.

So he had left because he had to fix some other business, and when he returned that evening he decided he would eat his dinner together with Harry. When he came up however, he saw Harry already had a plate standing in front of his chair. "A sandwich for dinner? Aint they free giving," he had mocked. Instead of being met with the usual laugh Louis had gotten so used to, all Harry had given him was a blank stare and a short "It was my lunch." That was when Louis had gotten worried. Harry hadn't eaten all day?

With dinner Harry had been just as difficult, and after a while Louis had just given up. "Fine! Go sleep then if you don't want my company," he had said. Then he had walked out, giving someone else orders to tie Harry loose so he could sleep.

Now he regretted that decision; today the boy seemed even worse than yesterday. Not only didn't he eat – he barely spoke. Only the necessary responds were heard from Harry.

Harry himself didn't notice Louis' struggles though. All he knew was that he was tired. So, so, very tired. He didn't want to eat, he didn't want to talk. Heck, he didn't even want to sit down really. He just wanted to be left alone on his bed, preferably in the dark so he could just sleep. Sleep forever. That was what he really wanted right now. And Louis, he was just getting in the way of that. He was angry at him for some reason, and he kept pushing the plate towards him which made Harry feel sick. Normally he liked fries, but he felt had eaten nothing else but McDonalds for a lifetime. He just wanted it to stop. He wanted everything to stop.

And he also wanted to breathe in the fresh air again, to read a book, to finally fucking decide something about his own life again. He felt like he had been in this room for years, while it had probably just been a few weeks. Or months? Harry had no idea. Maybe it had been a year by now, though that would be strange. He didn't think they would keep him alive for a year. Heck, they might already be getting sick of him. Ah well, why bother thinking about it? It was not like he really cared. His mind felt foggy.

Harry looked up again and saw Louis was looking at him, talking. Oh. He seemed pretty mad. Ah well. As Harry looked, Louis sighed and picked up his plate, taking a fry and popping it in his own mouth. Then Louis groaned. "It's already gone cold now anyway." He sighed and looked at Harry again. "Can I at least get you anything else?  _Anything_?" Harry shrugged.

"Some chocolate would be nice."

Why did he said that? He never ate chocolate. He didn't even like chocolate that much. And it would probably be way to sweet. Even the thought of eating something sweet was already making Harry's stomach churn. Whatever. At least it got Louis out of the room for now.

Louis had immediately scurried out after Harry had said he would eat some chocolate. Only question now was, where could he find chocolate in this place? He didn't assume the men would have some; maybe he should just go out and buy a few bars? Sighing Louis took his keys and went to the car. Not like he had anything better to do anyway.

**\---**

_BACK IN LONDON_

"Mr. Styles. Mr Styles!" The agent snapped her fingers in front of his face and Samuel looked up.

"What do you want? Is there any news? Can we go and get my boy now?"

The woman sighed. "Not quite. The phone is ringing." She pointed at his cell laying on his desk in front of him, buzzing.

"Ah. Right." Samuel looked at the thing, finding himself unable to find the motivation to pick it up. Then the screen flashed and he saw who was calling him.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Hey dad! Whatsup?" his other son spoke. Sam wanted to groan and throw his phone away. Really? Could he at least pretend to care? He stayed silent. "So... I hear the house is still filled with people?" Jake then broke the silence. Ah, there it was. Of course he only cared about if the police were still here.

"Yes Jake, they are still here. They are not going away until we find your little brother." Sam pinched the bridge of his nose and dared to think that one single thought again that made him feel like a terrible father and human being.

"I bet he's fine dad," Jake said. "I really wish I could come over, it's just I'm still swamped."

"Sure you are," Sam snapped. "I bet you're really busy. What job do you even have these days?" Jake didn't reply as he hadn't been listening.

"For fucks sake mate, I told you I'll be right there soon alright? Gotta finish some other business first," he heard his son say to someone on the other side of the line.

"Sorry dad, what'd you say?"

"Never mind," Sam sighed. "I will let you know if there is any news."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Alright. Let me know when I can come over, yeah. I really miss your good scotch."

"Sure you do. Bye Jake." Samuel hang up the phone and sighed again, massaging his scalps. "Misses my scotch my ass. He just misses the opportunity to get his old man to give him some money. The fucker," he mumbled.

"Mr. Styles?" the woman said. Shit, had she been standing here all the time? What about privacy?

Ah, fuck privacy. He hadn't had any privacy since he had reported Harry to be missing. The cops had put wires on all of his phones so they could tap in if the kidnappers would call again. And they would. They had been calling a lot lately. Discussing a deal isn't easy if it's business; if it involves the life of your son it is even harder. And what made it worse was that these men were good. They were smart.

But fuck it, he just wanted his son back! He didn't care about the amount, he just needed some time to gather it all together! But no, then the cops came in and they decided that this had to be something bigger than just a random kidnapper. The guy had slipped up, once, and one of the cops thought she had recognized his voice from somewhere, some sort of undercover thing she had been a part of. So now his house had been filled with people listening in to every call he made, restricting him in every movement. All he wanted was to lay in bed, close all the blinds and sleep. But he couldn't. He couldn't sleep. Didn't dare to. It wasn't just because of the nightmares he got in the few moments he did sleep; it was also because he had to help them finding Harry. He had to find his baby boy.

"Yes?" he finally responded to the woman, looking up at her.

**\---**

"So why are you doing this?" Harry asked. "What do you need the money for?"

Louis swallowed. He had promised Harry he would stay with him while they ate chocolate – he had bought a lot of it because he didn't know what Harry liked, and honestly he just wanted Harry to get some food into his system so he had decided the more the merrier – but this caused Harry to have the upper hand in their conversation today. Usually Louis had managed to remain in control of everything that happened, but now he was scared Harry would shut himself off from him again... He wanted to take care of the boy. He  _needed_  to. It was the least he could do. So, if Harry knew it or not; he was in charge right now.

And that was why he decided he would answer Harry's question as honestly as he could. "It's because of Curt, like I told you before." He bit off a big chunk and chewed slowly, Harry watching him patiently. After a moment of silence Louis continued.

"He lost a lot of money because of a... Deal. Business deal, let's call it that." He gave Harry a look. "There was a lot of money involved, but the... Package got stolen." He knew Harry probably knew what he was talking about, but he wanted to stop himself from saying it literally. At least he would be able to fool himself that way, fool himself that he wasn't a criminal. That Curt wasn't a wrong person to hang out with.

"So, one day, Curt told me he would probably have to get out of the country for a while. I got scared, because I knew some of the people he was dealing with and I knew they weren't... Yeah. Safe, or whatever. So when he said he had to get out I got scared because I had no idea what he did, or how bad it was. Then he told me about the deal that had gone wrong. He had lost a lot of money because of it, and this meant he now owed a lot of money to his... Business partners..." It sounded pathetic even in his own ears, the way he was rambling, trying to talk his way around using the word 'drugs'. He just felt like he wanted to hide that part of himself from Harry. He wanted Harry to think good of him. Know he wasn't  _just_  a bad person.

"So I told him I would help him earn the money back. I told him I could plunder some of my mums money, and he said I could do that but that it would never be enough. I told him I would get a job too, he said it would take me too long. I told him I would rob a bank, he said I couldn't pull that off without the right people with me, and they would cost me more than they would earn me. And you know... I was just getting desperate, okay? So then I saw this magazine laying there, and because I had just been flipping through it was open on this page, and your face was on there, and I just..." Louis hid his head in his hands. He felt like he couldn’t stop talking.

"I'm sorry Harry, I wish I had never... I knew a bit about your dad, like, I knew he was rich, and I knew you had just gotten a studio for your birthday, like which dad ever gives his son a whole fucking  _studio_ , you know? So I thought you guys must be loaded, since there were a lot of shots of your house all over these magazines with wild parties and such. And since I knew we needed real cash and we needed it quick, I formed an idea in my head..." Louis didn't dare to look at Harry. Woah, this went real deep real fast. He hadn't wanted to tell Harry it had been him. And he didn't want Harry to respond to anything he just said, either. Instead he quickly continued talking, switching topics.

"You know, I have no idea how much those kind of things cost. My mum has been ill for basically as long as I know, my dad left a few years back and my two little sisters are sweet but they cost a lot of money too. And I am the only one who gets us an income, since Curt pays me for some jobs I do for him – they're simple jobs though, you know? Delivery and such. Not all too dangerous or illegal. And whenever I would see your name in those magazines I would just... Envy you. So bad. And I thought that your family wouldn't miss the money anyway; I told Curt we would be done with this in a week max. And I really thought we would be; I mean, who would've expected this? How could I have known you weren't as rich as you guys seem to be? I thought it would be okay, that it would be over easily, that Curt and I would have been back home by now, doing our usually daily stuff..." Louis sighed and looked down. "I think I should go." He got up without looking at Harry and took a step towards the door.

"No," he heard a soft voice behind him. "Stay. Please."

Louis froze. Harry still wanted to talk to him? He turned around.

"But Harry, I just told you I was the cause of-..."

"Stay. Tell me about your sisters," Harry said as he picked up another piece of chocolate.

"I don't know if I can-..." Louis started, but as he saw Harry was lowering the piece of chocolate and putting it back in the box he changed his mind. Alright. He would talk and Harry would eat. Alright. He could live with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There ya go! A penny for your thoughts?
> 
> Love Xx.~  
> Mirthe


	15. Thirteen

***A few days earlier***

"Hello Louis."

Louis froze. What on earth was he doing here?

"Come in my office for a moment. I need to speak to you."

 _Anything but that!_  his mind screamed, but reluctantly Louis obeyed. He couldn't say no to Curt. Not while the men were watching. Not with the situation they were in. He needed Curt more than Curt needed him, and realizing that hurt. Hadn't it always been like that, though? Louis had truly believed he and Curt had something special, but his recent discoveries had made him doubt that thought. Had Curt ever loved him? Had Curt ever really taken the time to make sure Louis was okay, to make sure he would feel comfortable with anything they did?

He had thought about this earlier, and he had realized Curt had never really paid any attention to him. Louis had just been there, really, unless Curt needed him for something. Be it sex or a delivery.. Curt had never really tried to make sure they would do something  _Louis_ wanted.

Louis shook his head to get rid of his thoughts and stepped in to Curt's office, saying nothing. He just stood there, waiting till Curt would speak first.

"Sit."

Louis ignored him. He didn't want to sit. If he sat down, Curt would stand next to him and make Louis feel even smaller than he already was. When Curt noticed Louis intention to stay standing up he sighed.

"Fine. Be difficult then."

Another moment passed in silence. Curt took place behind his desk and skimmed trough some papers. Then he looked up.

"We have a deal. They decided to pay up after all. Three days from now and we will be free." Louis felt his knees buckle and had to literally force himself not to fall over.

"What?"

Curt tapped the table. "You heard me just fine. We're almost done with this bullshit. Finally."

Louis shook his head. It was just... Going to be over? Just like that? He knew he should feel happy, but all he felt was panic. Panic, because in three days he would never see Harry's face again. In three days, Harry would be taken away from him and he would realize Louis had been the bad guy all this time. In three days, Harry would realize what Louis had done to him, and he would hate him, and he would tell everything to the police. They would arrest him in four days tops, and he would never see his little sisters again. He was going to be locked away, for good. In four days' time, he was done with.

"You done panicking yet?" Curt asked him. "Relax. The cops won't get to us. They won't take us in either. In a couple of days I will have all the money I need in cash and we can finally get the hell out of this place. Everything is planned out perfectly. Nothing will go wrong. Louis! Do you hear me? Nothing will go wrong."

To others it might sound like Curt was comforting him, as if Curt believed in his own words, but Louis hadn't missed the slight tremble in Curt's voice. It was something he had only heard once before; the day Curt spoke about how much money he had lost during that one fatal deal. Louis knew that Curt was merely reassuring himself by saying all of this. He knew that Curt was scared. And if Curt was scared, everyone should be.

Without saying another word Louis turned on his heels and walked out of the room. What had he been about to do again? Right, someone had to untie Harry so he could sleep. Louis sighed as he looked around for someone to give the order to.

***Now***

"So... Tomorrow the deal will go down. And, yeah. So, you'll be free soon." Louis studied Harry's face as he delivered him the news. He seemed to be taking it okay. In fact, he didn't seem to react at all. "Harry?" Louis asked as he waved his hand before his face.

But Harry didn't hear Louis; his thoughts were racing way too fast to be able to focus on anything else. Free? What did that mean, to be free? For all he knew someone else could take him in again after a day, making him a prisoner once more. And what did that mean, 'the deal?' What kind of deal did they make? Was his dad paying? How much was he paying? Finally, Harry noticed Louis again. Wait, if he was getting free tomorrow, did that mean he would never see Louis again?

His mind went blank after that thought.

Never see Louis again?

It seemed to be something unthinkable, something unbearable. It seemed impossible. How would he live? Who was going to feed him now, make sure he was okay, make sure he felt safe?

If Louis wasn't there,  _who was going to keep him safe_?

Louis snapped his fingers to try and get Harry's attention now. The boy seemed to be so lost in thought... He would miss this. Louis stopped snapping and moving his arm in order to get Harry's attention and instead just stood there and watched the boy. He would really, really miss this. Wait, why on earth would he miss this? What was wrong with him?

He took a deep breath. Why would he miss this? It wasn't like this had been such fun, actually it had been pretty horrible to be here. Maybe... Maybe he was just clinging on to this situation because he didn't know what would happen next. What would happen with him? Would he go to prison, or would he be free? And what would happen between him and Curt? They had never really talked about what would happen to the two of them now, but Louis didn't trust Curt like he used to. Before, Curt had been his saviour, his hero. Now, he couldn't even bring himself to look the man in the eyes.

It made him feel guilty though. Curt had given him a lot; he knew he had thought before that Curt had never really payed attention to him, but that was just when he was hurt. That had been because the wound had still been fresh.

But now, after he had had the time to really think about it, he knew that he had been overreacting. Actually, Louis wanted nothing more than to see Curt smile after this deal was done. To see him relaxed again, happy. To know that  _he_ had been the one to think of this whole plan, to know that  _he_ had been the one to help this happen, to know that  _he_ had saved  _Curt_ this time.

Yeah, he had  _saved_  him and he was thankful for the fact that he did. Curt had given him so much before, it was the least he could do in return... Because how would he have been able to pay for his mother's medicine, to clothe his sisters, to feed the four of them? He wouldn't have pulled it off without Curt. Or was it wrong to think like that?

No, it wasn't. Louis was sure it wasn't. At least he thought it wasn't. Whatever. He had to focus on the now. Focus on Harry. Make sure they had a good last day together.

He wasn't going to ask Harry not to speak to the police about him though... He couldn't ask the boy that. Harry had been through enough, he didn't have to lie to the people who had been working to save him.

With that thought in mind Louis sighed and crouched down, putting his hands on Harry's knees for support. "How about I go get us some chocolate and a laptop so we can watch a movie, huh?" he asked Harry. The boy's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, maybe we could watch some Disney together."

Louis chuckled. Of course did Harry love Disney. How couldn't he?

"Sure. Any other snack preferences?"

"Caramel popcorn," Harry said without hesitation. "Can't watch a movie without caramel popcorn." Louis nodded and chuckled again.

"Caramel popcorn and chocolate it is. Be right back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caramel popcorn! Duh. Nothing better than that. My boyfriend doesn't even like popcorn. Can you believe it?  
> Anyway, whatya think? Happy for Harry to get out (finally)? Sad he and Louis might not see each other again? There's only a few chapters left! (:
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> Love Xx.~
> 
> Mirthe


	16. Fourteen

Louis smiled happily. He had gotten Harry to talk a bit after all. Maybe they would even talk more during the movie. Louis ached for a last bit of closeness between the both of them before Harry got away. He needed it. He needed this day to relax, to get his mind straight.

He didn't even know how much the dad would have to pay eventually. What was he called again... Sam.. Samuel? Yes, Samuel Stylinson. He had seen the name in the tabloids often enough. He should know this.

Alright, he would have to get himself a laptop. Where could he take a laptop from for a few hours? "Hey Clint." A man looked up from where he sat down on a bench, smoking a cigarette. Inside, Louis groaned. He hated the smell of cigarettes. Louis took a deep gulp of fresh air before he came close enough to breathe in the cigarette smoke.

"What doya need, boss."

This made Louis falter in his step. Right. He was the one in charge here.

Wait. He was the one in charge here?

"Arrange me a laptop as soon as you can, alright? With access to the internet of course." Clint looked at him. "Now, please." At this Curt got up, nodded, and threw his cigarette on the ground. He stepped on it and watched Louis glare at him. Really? He couldn't walk that one extra step to throw it in the bin?

Curt scurried inside and Louis took a deep breath again. Calm down. This was not what he came here for.

He walked to his car and unlocked it. Right. Movie snacks. There would have to be a sort of mini supermarket nearby, right? Maybe a tank station? Alright, movie snacks in general weren't the problem, but caramel popcorn though? He didn't think they would sell that in a regular tank station. Before Harry had suggested it he didn't even know there were other flavours than sweet and salty. At a loss for any other way to find it he took out his phone and opened google maps.

\--

_London_

"You mean you have a visual?" Samuel said hopefully. "You mean you know where they are holding my boy?" The woman standing in front of him smiled. She was nice, she was. Charlene. That was her name. Yes, Charlene was nice.

"Yes, I believe we do Mr. Styles. We have troops ready to engage as soon as they get word. We will get your son out today."

\--

_Italy_

"Alright," Harry muttered to himself. "So when he comes back, you know he is nice but you are going to leave soon and you have to get a grip."

When Louis suggested watching some movies and eating junk food Harry could already see them cuddling up and watching his favourite movie. He sighed. Ariel would have to wait, though. First he would have to talk to Louis about what was going to happen after. Where would Louis go? He wanted to make sure he didn't go with Curt again, not after all that had happened. Not after the way Curt treated Louis, how he had been setting Louis up for if this plan would go sideways - no.

Would they be able to see each other? Harry wondered. Would they? Would they be able to meet? He'd like that. He'd like it if he would be able to still see Louis. Louis made him feel safe. He had taken care of him, he had shown him sympathy. And it wasn't Louis fault that the both of them were here. They had both been dragged into this, both without actually wanting to be hear. Yes, perhaps Louis had told him that it had been his idea, but that was only because he had been in love with Curt. It was a fucked up relationship they were in; Curt had manipulated Louis into doing what he wanted, into believing they both cared for each other. They never did though. Well, Louis had, but Curt had only cared for the fact that he had someone to do petty jobs. Someone desperate enough to do them and thankful enough not to ask for more. Harry sighed. He wanted Louis to get back already. It had taken long enough.

-

"Caramel... Caramel... Ugh, why is there no caramel?"

"Can I help you, son?" the man behind the counter asked. They were the only ones in the shop.

"Yes, sorry, I was wondering if you also have caramel popcorn?"

Louis was in a small supermarket, it was the only one he could find that wasn't closed at a Sunday.

"I believe we do. Isn't it in the racks?" the man asked. Louis shook his head. "I will look if we perhaps have it in the back. It'll only take a minute." The man smiled kindly and Louis returned the gesture, relieved the man wanted to help him. He looked at his watch. Almost one pm. Hm. The day was going faster than he thought.

"There we go!" he heard the man say before he even came back into view. "How many do you want?"

"Two bags, please?" Louis asked. He was unsure of how big the bags were and how much Harry was going to eat, but he guessed two would be enough. The man put only two small bags on the counter however, and Louis bit his lip. Whatever, he didn't want to bother the man for much longer. And they were quite expensive. He would just not eat any of it.

Louis payed, took the popcorn and chocolate and walked back to his car, checking his phones for updates. There were none. Hm. Guess nothing out of the ordinary. "I'm coming, Harry," he said softly with a small smile playing on his lips. He quickly got in and drove off. Luckily this store hadn't been that far off so he knew he would get back at the building in no time.

When he almost arrived he quickly slammed the breaks because a black SUV ignored a red light. "What the  _fuck_!" A few other SUV's followed the first one and Louis eyed them wearily. Wait. Where were those going..?

He shook his head. It was probably nothing. Instead of going right however, following those cars, he crossed the crossroad and took a right one street later. He would just take a longer route to make sure he didn't get there at the same time.. If they were even trying to get there. He took his phone from the seat next to him and tried dialling Clint but no one picked up, and neither did any of the other guys.

Curt had said it was fine, right? Curt had said they had taken the deal, and that deal would not go down until tomorrow. They weren't going to take him away from him already.. Right?

-

Suddenly, Harry heard a loud bang from somewhere down stairs and some shouting. A few short, loud bangs followed. Wait. Were those... Gun shots? Shit! Louis! Was Louis alright? He could be here any time now... Was he alright? What on earth was going on?

Before he had any time to react the door was thrown open with a loud bang and a few man came in, fully clad in black and four big letters on their suits.  _SOCA_.

A woman walked towards him, her hand extended. "Hello, Harry is it, right? We're from the serious organised crime agency my dear, and my name is Maria. Everything is alright. We are going to take you home."

Harry just looked at her. Everything is alright? No, everything was  _not_  alright! Louis! Where was Louis? He looked around him wildly and shied away from her hand.

Maria stopped in her tracks and crouched down. "Don't worry Harry, I am not here to hurt you. We are here to protect you. There were only a few men down there, but we believed there to be more. Let's go now, alright? We will talk about what exactly happened here later so we can catch those evil men who did this to you." She smiled, a friendly but hurried look on her face. Harry felt like he could trust her, but his feelings were contradicted. In his mind, he was screaming. 

 _Louis_.

Was Louis alright? Had Louis been one of the few men downstairs? He hadn't been, right? If Louis was here he would've already been in the same room as Harry right now. Louis was fine.

Relief washed over Harry and Maria took that as realisation kicking in. "Yes, that's right. Come on up Harry. Can you walk?"

-

Louis felt his breath hitch in his throat as he saw the SUVs he saw earlier parked randomly in front of the building. He had slowed down a bit, but now he kept driving. He didn't know what else to do. Where could he go? Was Curt taken as well? Perhaps he could call him... He slammed the breaks and stood still, motor running, in the middle of the street.

He could call Curt. And then what? Say the operation had failed? Tell him he wasn't getting his money, explain how that could've happened on his watch? Would Curt still take him in? Technically speaking,  _Louis_  was the fugitive here. Not Curt. Never Curt.

Louis had made his decision and put the car in reverse, then drove up the parking lot, getting out of the car with his arms raised. He was quickly overmastered by a few men, handcuffing him and putting him in the back of one of the still empty cars. Louis stared blankly in front of him, only perked up when he saw a woman taking Harry with her. He saw how Harry stood still for a moment and squinted at the sun while taking a deep breath of fresh air, and he wanted to cry. He wanted to cry because he felt so, so happy. So happy that the boy had finally been rescued from Curt and himself, so happy that their whole operation had failed. So happy that Curt would never see his money, so happy to see Harry out in the open. Louis shuddered as relief cursed trough his body, the feeling overwhelming him. He had not expected to feel like this at all. Then again, he had not expected any of this when he had suggested the idea to Curt either... He shook his head and looked at Harry again, who was now slowly making his way to another car.

His hair had lost its shimmer, his clothes were wrinkly, he had a white face with sunken eyes and his hands were shaking, but Harry was finally free and Louis couldn't feel any happier. He knew he was going to jail for this, but right now he couldn't care less. He knew he would've never been happy if they  _had_  gotten the money. He didn't even know if Curt would really share it with him after all that had happened.

Wait. Where was Curt anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... It's all over for now. How do you feel? Where is Curt? Will Louis and Harry ever meet again with just the two of them? So many questions. See you next time!
> 
> Love Xx.~   
> Mirthe


	17. Fifteen

"Jason!" 

Harry heard the nervousness in his father's voice. He had been home for a few weeks now and had just gotten back from therapy about an hour ago, which meant he had been sitting in his father's office drinking tea and talking with him. Talking about nothing and everything at the same time; about life, death, about his mother and about his father's youth. It was what they had been doing every time after Harry got back from his therapy sessions, and Harry enjoyed it. They had just been in the midst of discussing whether religion had had a positive or negative effect on humanity when they had been interrupted by a knock on their door, and Jason came in. 

They hadn't heard anything from him since Harry was back. Not a word. Not even a call, an email, a text. Nothing.

Harry turned around and looked at his older brother, feeling no love nor hate towards this stranger in the room. Jason was wearing a black leather jacket and still had his motor helmet in his hands.

"Hello old man. Hey Harry," Jason said with a separate nod for the both of them. "What's for dinner? I'm starving."

"Well..." Samuel looked at Harry, scratching the back of his head. "I guess we were about to order some pizza, right son?" Harry nodded. "I suppose you could join if you-"

"Great! I'll just drop my stuff in my room. Margarita for me. Call me when it has arrived!"

Samuel sunk back in his chair and sighed, shaking his head. "Could the both of you have turned out even more differently?" Harry smiled softly. "Well, I suppose I'll order us a pizza then. Which one do you want to try out this time?"

Harry got up out of his chair and walked around the desk so he could look at his dad's laptop screen, which had a tab of _Square pizza’s_ open. He skimmed trough the images and names of the different kinds of pizzas quickly, and then pointed at one he knew for sure he hadn't ordered before.  

"Alright," Samuel said, adding it to their cart. "You go read for a bit or something, son. I'll let you know when it's here." Harry nodded, smiled once, and went to his room where he had the fourth book of  _Wheel of Time_  laying on his bed. He laid down, checking his phone for any missed texts. There were only a few of Gabe, asking him if he wanted to grab a cup of coffee. He ignored it for now, deciding he wanted to read instead.

It wasn't like he didn't want to go with her. It was more like he was sick of 'grabbing a cup of coffee' with someone. He had done it too often - four times last week alone already - and he didn’t even like coffee. He felt like he needed his time alone. It was exhausting to go from only seeing one person for such a long time to spending his afternoons in crowded coffee shops and busy streets.

Or, perhaps it was more like no one's company could really compare to one certain someone's company.

The past few weeks had been difficult for Harry, and strange. For some reason he still waited for someone to wake him up in the morning, and usually got disappointed when it wasn't Louis. In the evening he watched Disney's  _The Little Mermaid_  every time before he went to bed but he knew it just wasn't the same as it could have been.

He missed Louis. He actually missed him.

He had never exactly told the police what had happened either. He had never told any names, and said some of them wore masks all the time. One time he had to go and see if he recognized any of the men they had taken into custody he had indeed vaguely remembered most of them. When they had given him Louis' picture however, Harry had felt as if he would almost faint. 

 _Louis Tomlinson_ , the card had read. Harry had stared at the boy's picture for what felt like hours, drinking in the curves of his nose and the soft fall of his light brown hair, studying his lips and wondered how they would've felt if they would have been pressed against his own...

He had convinced the police to let him go, because he had been sure this boy was nothing more than an unlucky standby who had been taken into custody because of, well, bad luck. He still wasn't sure if they believed him, but for as far as Harry knew they had done as he had asked - more like begged, actually - them to do. 

His therapist had described the way he felt as something called Stockholm Syndrome, or capture-bonding. The victim would, as she explained to him, develop positive feelings towards his or her captor, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors. These feelings were generally developed in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who could mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness. A person who was the victim in a hostage situation like Harry had been could develop this, but also people who were for example in an abusive relationship, cult members, incest victims, and even concentration camp prisoners could depict signs of this Syndrome. 

This syndrome had found its name in Stockholm. There, during a bank robbery, several bank employees were held hostage in a bank vault while their captors negotiated with police. During this standoff the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, rejected assistance from government officials at one point, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal.

Harry thought back to when he first heard of this. He was shocked. Could his feelings for Louis actually be possibly described as this - as a syndrome? As a way for him to survive? He had been struggling with it a lot lately, as he had first planned to reach out to Louis after all of this would be over. However, if these feelings he were feeling were merely an act of survival... Would he have felt the same thing for Louis if they would've met in different circumstances? Harry would never know, and it drove him mad. Often, late at night when he was ready to fall asleep, he would imagine different scenarios in which they could've met each other. Perhaps they could've gone to the same school, or gotten adopted by the same family. Perhaps they could've been co-stars in a movie, or been two famous youtubers who would become best friends later on. Maybe they could've both been famous artists or met at a certain festival - there were so many options. However, for now Harry had to listen to his therapist and not reach out to Louis the way he wanted to. He had promised her he wouldn't get in touch with him, but that didn't mean he couldn't visit... Harry closed his eyes and thought back to last Wednesday.

 

_"Bas, could you help me with something?" Harry had asked softly. He did everything softly now. He was still scared sometimes they would know where he was if he wasn’t careful. And that if they found him, they would take him back._

_"Sure thing boy, what's up?" Bas, his driver and bodyguard said._

_"You know your way around London, right?"_

_Bas nodded._

_"If I gave you an address, could you.. Take me there? And not tell dad about it?" Harry bit his lip. He knew Bas was to report everything peculiar back to his father, but he really had to do this. Just this one thing._

_Bas had sighed deeply at Harry's request but then he smiled fondly. "Just for this once, alright? Tell me the address." Harry handed him a small piece of paper and gazed as Bas hopefully, frowning however when he saw the other one's smile falter._

_"What's wrong?"_

_Bas licked his lips. "Why.. Why do you want to go here, son? This is a bad neighbourhood, I'm not sure if it's safe. Especially not with your father's car. We'll stand out too much."_

_Harry look at him, feeling quite hopeless. "But I have to go there! It's... I have to visit someone. See a friend." He bit his lip again. "We don't even have to take the car. We could take the tubes instead." He knew Bas' answer before he even heard it._

_"No. Too dangerous. Besides, the nearest station is too far of a walk for that address. We'll just.." Bas sighed. "We'll take my car, alright?"_

_Harry's eyes lit up and he nodded._

"The pizzas are almost here, I think." 

Harry was pulled back from his memory. "What?" he asked his dad who was standing in the doorway. 

"Pizza is almost here, 'bout ten more minutes."

"Alright, thanks dad." Samuel nodded and walked away again, softly closing the door behind him. Harry sighed and closed his eyes again.

 

_He had never really thought about Bas’s life outside of work. For Harry, Bas being around didn’t count as a man doing his job. It counted as someone in his life whom he could trust._

_This explained his shock when they walked to the garage and Bas opened the doors of a tiny, worn out car. He didn’t say anything and flashed Bas a smile as he got in._

_“I know it isn’t much,” Bas said as he got in himself. Harry wanted to protest but Bas wouldn’t hear it. “It’s a 2002 Mazda 121 and it’s my baby. Had it for eight years already.” He patted the dashboard and started the car._

_“It’s a good car.” Harry looked around and fell a smile creep to his lips._

_“What are you thinking about?” Bas asked him._

_“About how cool it would be to drive a car like this with my self-made money,” Harry replied. Bas laughed._

_They drove on for about thirty minutes, laughing and talking. Bas told Harry about his wife and two kids, aged seven and ten, and how difficult it had been for them at first to move from the Netherlands to England. They had done this because of Bas his job, but then Bas lost his job. He couldn’t go back however; they had just sold their house and got their kids in a good school, so they had to build their life up here, get new friends, get money from… Somewhere. Harry had asked him if Bas could teach him the Dutch language and Bas said he was fine with that. They started immediately, by talking and sometimes translating small sentences and words. Harry was a quick learner._

_Harry told Bas about Wheel of Times and how he had been reading non-stop since he had been home. They didn’t talk about heavy topics. Harry’s kidnapping and their destination were carefully avoided._

_Under the surface and though their jokes, Harry felt nervous. What kind of neighbourhood would they end up at? Why was Bas getting more and more nervous too as they got there?_

_“When we get there.. Do you really want to get out of the car, or can I deliver a message for you?” Bas suddenly asked. Harry looked at him, confusion evident on his face._

_“Why wouldn’t I want to get out?” he asked Bas._

_“Because of your look, Harry. You look like a typical rich boy. They don’t get rich people in these streets very often.”_

_Harry felt taken aback. “Oh. Yeah, we’ll see, I guess.”_

_Bas stopped the car. “We’re here.”_

_“Which one is it?” Harry scanned the street and was startled as a black cat suddenly screeched and ran over the street._

_“No, kitty!” A little girl with soft brown hair ran after it._ Her hair looks just like Louis’ does _, Harry thought._

_“That one over there,” Bas pointed across the street._

_It was a shaggy building, dirty and covered in graffiti. It pained Harry’s heart to see the building, and he felt guilty as he saw the little girl run inside, sniffling softly because of her cat. She would have to grow up in this… world, while he had been living in his, unaware of the difference in people’s lives just a few blocks over._

_“Let’s go,” he said in a stern voice._

_“But.. Are you sure? Didn’t you want to see someone?” Bas sounded surprised._

_“No, I…”_

_“Where did it run off to, Phoebe?”_

That voice.

Harry opened his eyes. He would have recognised that voice anywhere. _Phoebe_. His little sister’s name. He had quickly ushered Bas to drive off after hearing that, and didn’t dare to look over his shoulder because he was afraid they would look each other straight in the eye. He knew who was behind him though, in the same street, holding a little girl by the hand while searching for a cat.

He got up from his bed and started pacing the room. He had to do something. He couldn’t just… Leave him there. With nothing. He _had_ to help him. Then he stopped in his tracks. His therapist had explicitly stated that he could not, under any circumstances, get back in touch with Louis. Not if he ever wanted to get out of his victim role. Harry started pacing again.

So, all he had to do was figure out a way to help Louis out without getting in touch with him. He needed someone else to be an in-between man. But who could he ask? Who could he trust to help him with this?

Harry stopped walking again. Of course. The answer had been right in front of him all along.

Bas.

Harry smiled as he walked out of his room to his dad’s study, already smelling the pizza. Hm… He was hungry.


	18. Sixteen

When he got downstairs his dad and brother were already eating. “Hope you like this one,” his father said with a smile. Harry smiled back and sat down.

“You know,” Jake said, his mouth still full of food and making disgusting chewing noises. “I could teach you a thing or two about self-defence.” Harry looked up, surprised.

“Why?”

“You know, so you don’t get kidnapped again. That way next time you’ll at least be able to fight them off before they put you in a hole somewhere.”

Harry flinched. “Jason!” his dad said, exasperated. “How could you say something like that?”

“It’s fine, dad,” Harry said in a small voice.

“No, it is not!” Samuel replied. “It is not fine. He is not fine. This is not fine!” He smacked his flat hand on the table. Jake just laughed.

“Chill out dad, I didn’t mean it. Not completely.” He turned to Harry. “Fact is you’re still a wuss. Maybe you should-“

Samuel stopped him. “Jake. _Fuck off_.”

A deafening silence followed. Never had Harry heard his dad use foul language like this. Not even when his mum had died. Bas, who had been standing in the doorway, straightened his back and one of the two housekeepers shuffled away nervously. Jake broke the silence by laughing again, though this time more nervously. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead took a huge bite of a pizza slice as his dad gave him a warning stare.

Harry studied Jake. What kind of person had his brother become? How could this boy, who used to be such a sweet and caring older brother, turn into… This?

How could his brother have turned into this… _thug_ , with worn out shoes, grey washed ripped jeans, a white tee and a leather, short sleeved jacket accompanied by chains around his neck and silver earrings in both ears. His tattoos in his neck, on his arms and on his legs were clearly visible. Harry squinted his eyes. Wait, he didn’t know that one… That green.. Wait. What? Was that a dragon?

The gears in Harry’s head were chinking and turning. Why did he feel like he should know something about this? What was feeling familiar about this picture? As if someone had mentioned something about it before.. He could still hear his voice…

Harry froze as he was midway in taking a bite of his pizza.

“Dedraak,” he whispered softly. Jake froze as well.

“What did you say?”

“Dedraak. It’s not a name. It’s ‘De Draak’. Means ‘The Dragon’ in Dutch. It’s you. It was you.”

Jake looked at him as if he was seeing a ghost.

“What are you talking about, Harry?” his dad asked, confused. Harry ignored him.

“It was you who Louis saw kissing with Curt. You. You were the one who Curt cheated with. You’re gay.”

Samuel blinked his eyes. “What? What are you talking about Harry? Who are Louis and Curt? Jake?”

Jake looked at his father and back at Harry, back at his father and back at Harry again. “How did you…”

“I bet,” Harry licked his lips. “I bet you are also the one Curt owed his money to, aren’t you?”

Jake sat up straight. “Wait. You aren’t telling me you know Curt because…”

Harry smiled, the irony dawning upon him. “Yes, _big brother_ , it was you. It’s your fault. Because of your actions, your reputation… You scared Curt into doing what he did. You made him do this. You made Louis do this.” At the last sentence Harry’s voice cracked. “You made Louis get dragged into all of this….” Tears welled up in his eyes. “It’s _all your fault!_ ” he then yelled. “All your fault. All your fault. All your fucking god damn shit arse fault!”

Panicked, he jumped up from the table and ran upstairs. “Fuck!”

Samuel and Jake were left at the table, Samuel still blinking and trying to process everything he had heard. It didn’t take him long.

“Get out.”

“Dad?”

“I said get out! Get the _fuck_ out of my house, and never look back! You…” Samuel’s eyes darkened. “I still don’t know exactly what you have done this time, but guessing from the way Harry was… From what I understand…” He looked at Jake, anger basically oozing from him. “You are no son of mine,” he said through his teeth.

“Dad, I..”

“I can’t believe I was once going to make you vice president of my company… Get the fuck out!”

Jake jumped out of his chair, stumbling a bit in his haste to make it to the door. He clenched his jaw tightly as he crossed eyes with Bas. The latter just shook his head sadly. “Your mother would not be proud of you, Jake,” he whispered. Jake’s eyes were filled with emotion for a moment. Anger. Guilt. Sadness. Remorse. Then the moment was gone and they were looking empty as always. Hard. Cold. Distant.

After Jake was gone Samuel stayed seated for quite some time. He thought about where it had all gone wrong. Where had it gone wrong? If he was honest with himself? Probably the day he had gotten a call his wife, his beautiful wife and mother of their two children had been taken away from them. From him.

He had immediately known what that meant. He would have to suck up his own loss and try to make up for the void their mother had left in the lives of both of his sons. At first he had really tried to do so. He really had. He just needed time to get to adjust. He just needed a few more days to mourn on his own.

During those days though, he had lost himself in his work. And those days, they had turned into weeks, and then months, and then suddenly years. He had noticed Jake had been slipping off. He had tried to repair the damage that had been done best he could. He thought giving Jake some attention every time they were together would help the kid, would set him straight again. Every time Jake asked him for money he tried not to give it to him but he was scared that if he didn’t, Jake wouldn’t come back at all anymore. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to handle that. He didn’t want Harry to have to handle that either. His youngest son had always been so close to both his mother and his brother, he didn’t want Harry to loose both.

But, as the years passed and the amounts Jake was asking for increased, he knew he had made a terrible mistake. He sometimes saw Harry as he would come home from his day at the studio and he would want to talk to him, but he didn’t know how. After going so long of only giving himself time to worry about his job and Jake, he had no idea how he would have to handle Harry. What was Harry even like as a person?

Yes, he had let it get so far that he didn’t even feel like he knew his own son. Sons, plural, actually, as he never had any idea what Jake was up to either. He had expected him to be in some bad dealings, yeah, but this…

He was still trying to fit the pieces Harry had given him together. Or, rather, he was still trying to grasp the thing he already knew.

_One of his sons had been indirectly responsible for the kidnapping of his second son._

He had no idea how he had to feel about this. He felt kind of good for making Jake go, but at the same time he felt as if he had failed. Failed everyone. Failed his wife, for not doing as good of a job as she would have. Failed Jake, for not raising him better and failed Harry, for not spending time with him at all. He felt like he failed his company and employees, by using them as a means to avoid his personal problems, and as if he had failed the police by the way he had co-operated. He also failed his own parents for never making time for them when they had still been alive, and, last but not least, he had utterly and completely failed himself, for fucking up every single good thing in his life. Samuel sighed. He would have to treat his staff better, both in his house and at the job. And he would have to make sure he stayed paying attention to Harry’s needs a bit more from now on. Plus maybe he should thank the police force for helping him the way they had done. After all, they _had_ gotten his son back.

Yes. It was time to pick himself up again. It made him feel ashamed that something as drastic as a kidnapping of his son had been needed to make him realise that.

He decided first he would call Charlene. She had been very nice to him. Maybe he could invite her to go for a cup of thee or something. After that he’d go and talk to Harry. Taking a deep breath he picked up the phone.

“Hey,” he said when she picked up. “I um… Maybe we could talk?”

Upstairs, Harry himself wasn’t really up for a conversation with his father – not like Samuel knew that though. Instead, Harry was pacing in his room, his mind racing. What should he do? What _could_ he do? His brother, his own fucking brother had been responsible for his kidnapping. Had been responsible for Louis’ sadness, for Louis’ tossing and turning at night because he had been scared for Curt… He took his phone out of his pocket.

“Hey,” he said as Gabe picked up. “Call Tay. Meet me at the studio. We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Almost done! I'm so proud that I managed to finish my very own first story (If you don't count the book I wrote when I was like, 10 years old during a project- whatever).  
> It did take quite some time lol, but nevertheless it is officially finished! Stay tuned for the last few chapters!


	19. Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> So this is a very long chapter. If you think it's too long and I should cut it up into two parts let me know. For now, enjoy your reading! (: Xx.~

“So… Then I realised it was him whom Louis had seen kissing Curt… and yeah. I kind of started guessing after that, but Jake’s reaction gave him away. Basically, he is neck deep into shady shit that made Curt and Louis decide to kidnap me in order to get some money.”

It had taken Harry a bit longer than usual to walk to the studio because the paps had gotten a hint of him now. There were journalists asking him questions almost everywhere he went, and if it wouldn’t have been for Ben finally deciding to go back and take the car after all it would have probably taken them hours to get here. After they had arrived the group had all sat down and Harry had told them everything. Well, almost everything. He left out a few things about his dream about Louis, how they had slept next to each other, how Louis had cried in his arms when he and Curt had gotten into that huge fight and how they had agreed to watch a movie the night Harry was rescued. But other than that, he had told them everything. All of them – meaning Gabe, Taylor and Ben, were now looking at him, silent. Trying process all that they had heard. 

Ben scraped his throat. “About his Dutch name, that could be my... You know, when he was younger he was always so curious…” he shook his head. “I also taught him Dutch. He speaks it quite fluently, even if he has an accent.”

Gabe and Taylor kept silent.

“So…” Tayler then suddenly said after a moment of thinking. “Basically you want to find out if your brother is involved so you can get Curt and make sure Louis gets off the hook? But.. isn’t Louis as bad as the others?”

Harry shook his head violently. “No! He is not! He isn’t… he isn’t a bad guy. He took care of me, you know. He gave me food, and blankets, and kept me company… He.. He is a nice guy!”

Everyone at the table looked a bit taken aback by that. “Well that’s not very healthy,” Tay muttered.

“Let’s keep us at the task at hand here,” Gabe interjected before Harry could retort. It hurt her that Harry felt this way about a guy who had done such a horrible thing to him. _Maybe I should’ve just kidnapped him a year ago. Would’ve speeded things up between us,_ she thought bitterly. She immediately waved the thought away. Harry didn’t mean to feel like this. She had read about it. Some sort of kidnapping syndrome? That was probably what he had now. She felt bad for him. The boy had been through so much… he didn’t deserve any of this.

“Okay so,” she spread her hands over the table. “What we first need to think of is a way to lure Jake out so we can follow him. Any ideas?”

The group fell silent as they started to think.

-

“Phoebe, get back here!” Louis yelled. He sprinted towards her and grabbed his sister by the waist just before she could run over the street where cars were swooshing by. “Hey, you can’t do that, alright? You could’ve gotten hurt!” Louis drew a shaky breath. “Alright, go see where your sister is at so we can get to the store.”

“Fine Loulou,” Phoebe said as she wiggled out of his grasp. “There she is!” she pointed to a grass field where his other sister was petting a dog.

“Watch out!” he said as he ran towards her. “Do you know if this dog is a good dog? What if he is sick?” he checked out the animal. It looked abandoned. He had seen it before, sitting on this small patch of grass. It would probably still be here when they got back from the grocery store, too. Two big brown eyes were gazing up at him. “Oh no, don’t look at me like that buddy. I can’t afford taking in a dog. We already had that bloody cat draining our money.”

“Louis!” Phoebe cried. “He was my kitty, not a bloody cat!” She started sobbing softly and Louis sighed. “Fine, fine, you’re right. I’m sorry, I know you miss him. I can’t take in this dog though. I know you like him Daisy, but it’s just too expensive. Now come on, we have to go grocery shopping. This will be the last time I go with you alright? After this you have to know how to do it with just the two of you.” He took his two sisters by the hand and felt guilt gnawing at his heart. They were only five and six years old, he knew he couldn’t really leave them behind like this. But he had to be prepared. _They_ had to be prepared. Once the police would take him in, they would have to be able to take care of themselves, and their mother. He looked down at the both of them and sighed again.

-

“Alright, so then it is decided. First Harry will go and drink a cuppa with his brother, while we will stand by, and then we will all follow him discreetly – without getting into touch with each other – and we will all try to find out what he is up to individually. This is a horrible plan. Its literally awful. What if they kill us? Jake doesn’t know us at all. What if they shoot at sight? Harry, I think we shouldn’t do this. Yeah, it’s better if we don’t. I can’t keep you safe like that, but two of us together would draw too much attention. I don’t think this plan will work in any way. It’s madness. I will have to stop you if you really go through with this,” Bas rambled.

Harry looked thoughtful. “Maybe,” he then said. “Maybe it is indeed better if we first sleep on this idea for another night and get back here tomorrow to decide if we really want to get through with this or not.”

Gabe nodded, but Taylor interjected. “Why? What if he is fleeing the country already? We have to act now, or else he could be gone!”

Harry shrugged. “it’s a risk we’ll have to take.”

“Fine.”

“Hm. Alright. We’ll decide tomorrow.”

“Good with me.”

With that the conversation had ended. They all got up. “Hey, Harry,” Gabe said. “Wanna go grab a bite with me? I’m starving, bet you are too. Maybe we could catch up for a bit.” She smiled hopefully.

“No, sorry Gabe. Maybe another time.” He looked at Bass. “Can I have some time for myself, please? I promise I won’t go far. I just need to be on my own for a little while.” Blake nodded and Harry smiled at him, thankful. He turned around and walked out of the studio, determined with what he was going to do. Bas had been right. It would be too dangerous to let people spy on Jake, people whom Jake didn’t even know. They could get seriously hurt.

But Taylor had been right too. Jake could be anywhere by now, be completely off the grid tomorrow. He clenched his jaw tightly and took his phone out. Well, then it was all up to him now.

-

Samuel was ticking his foot nervously as he was waiting in front of the café. When he had called Charlene he didn’t expect her to say yes immediately. She had though, so he had decided to leave Harry be for the moment. The boy was probably asleep anyway, as he had knocked on his door but didn’t get a response. “Samuel,” he heard a woman say. He looked up, and saw Charlene standing there. He was taken aback a bit by the way she looked. She looked just so… _nice._ All the time she had been at his house he had only seen her in her police outfit, without make up, hair tight in a bun. She had been a good looking woman then, but now, looking well rested and with casual clothes on she looked..

“Charlene. You look dashing,” he said with a smile as he got up. “I’m afraid I have already ordered as I had gotten here a bit too early. I didn’t know what you liked though.”

“That’s fine,” Charlene said with a smile. She sat down. “How have you been?”

“Fine, I guess,” he mumbled.

“Fine? Well that doesn’t sound very promising. What’s on your mind?”

“Hm?” Samuel looked up.

“Come on Samuel, we have been working together pretty closely while we were looking for Harry, I can see you are struggling with something. Tell me.”

Samuel smiled softly. It had been quite a while since someone had noticed when he had been struggling with something. It was even rarer for someone to ask what that something was.

“It’s just… Harry,” Samuel sighed and looked down again. “I know he’s been having a hard time, and I’m really trying but it’s just... hard, you know?” He looked up at Charlene for a moment and then quickly looked down again. Her blue eyes seemed to go straight through him.

“Alright, so what has been really bothering you?” she then said, impatiently. “Don’t play games. I’ve been trained to know when people lie. Tell me.”

Samuel sighed. “You have to promise me that, when I tell you this, you are listening as a friend, not as someone from your job.”

Charlene seemed to be taken aback by this, but she agreed. “I’m your friend, Samuel. You can tell me what’s wrong.” She reached over the table to take his hand. “Tell me.”

Samuel took a deep breath. “It’s about Jake. I think… It’s something that Harry said. I think he might have been involved in the kidnapping somehow.” Charlene shook her head.

“If that is true we must do something about that! Where is Jake now? What did he tell you?”

“Charlene,” Samuel said softly. “He is my son.”

“Well yes, but…”

“I do not know where he is. I sent him away. Told him to never come back.” He looked up at the woman in front of him, feeling very helpless. “Am I a horrible father? I must be, right?”

Charlene shushed him as she squeezed his hand, which she was still holding, softly.

“You are doing the best you can, Sam. It’s okay. I’m officially off the job now. Talk to me.”

Samuel took a deep breath. “Well, I think it all started with Jake after his mother died.”

-

“Is this why you wanted to meet? Just so you could stare at me?”

Harry felt his cheeks heat up. He hadn’t really thought this trough, if he was honest. Here he was, sitting with his big brother, and he had absolutely nothing to say to him. Absolutely nothing.

“Well, I just…” he started.

“Save me the trash talk Harry,” Jake interrupted him. “You hate me. Fine. You never want to see me again. Fine. I don’t care. If that was all you wanted to tell me then please say so. I have more things to do.”

Harry blinked and said nothing. Jake stared back at him. After a while he gave up, sighed, and got up from his chair.

“I should’ve known I was wasting my time coming here,” Jake said. He gave Harry one last look, then he left.

Harry felt as if he was stuck to his chair. On one hand, he wanted to follow Jake, find what he was up to. On the other hand however he just wanted to sit here and stare some more at nothing in particular, sitting in this chair the way he had sat in the other one. He looked down at his laps and saw his hands clenched into fists. This wasn’t the other one though. This wasn’t the other chair. Here, he wasn’t tied up. He could leave whenever he wanted to. Harry looked around nervously. He could, right? They would not stop him? Beat him? Tell him to sit back down again, keep him here? He let out a shaky breath. He could still walk out of here, right?

Scraping all courage he had together he slowly got up from his chair, took his coat, his scarf, his phone, downed the last of his tea and slowly walked away. “Sir!”

Harry froze. They were on to him. This had been his only chance of getting away, and he had blown it because of how slow he had been.

“Sir! You haven’t paid for your drinks yet.”

Harry’s cheeks flushed as he turned back around. Of course.

“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled. “My mind is somewhere else completely.”

“That’s alright.” The employee gave him a shy smile. “Just wait, I’ll go and get you the bill.”

“Don’t worry,” Harry said to him. He liked the way the other one smiled. He liked the way his eyes twinkled. He liked how happy he seemed. “I know how much I owe you.” He took out a twenty and a ten. “Keep the change.”

“Thanks, mate. See you next time,” the guy winked and Harry walked out of the café, the bell by the door giving a short ‘ding’ as he opened and closed the door, and his cheeks flushed.

When he got outside he stood still and closed his eyes for a moment. He was good. This was all fine. Nothing bad had happened. He opened up his eyes again, only to see a familiar coat a few meters away, just getting out of another shop. Wait, was that…

He followed the coat and came to the end of the street just after he had seen him take a left. He went left as well, and saw the coat disappear in a street to the right. Again, he followed. This went on for a while. Occasionally Harry had to duck behind a car or hide in the crowd of people, and every time he did so his heart would pound in his throat. Had he been spotted yet? It was not like he was afraid of Jake, but he had no idea what he could give up as excuse for following him all the way through town. Or rather, to the outskirts of town. Harry looked around at his surroundings for the first time, and realised that he had no clue as to where he was. _Oops_.

He shrugged and decided he might as well follow through with following his brother to his destination. He could always take a taxi home. Although there didn’t really seem to be any taxis around here. Or anyone at all, for that matter.

Wait. Was this where Jake had wanted to go? He took in his surroundings more clearly and found that they were at a storage unit of some sorts. He ducked behind a container and saw Jake walk up to the door, tap a range of knocks on the door and being let inside. Shit, now what? He could never repeat the knock Jake had just done. And even if he could, the people inside would recognize he wasn’t someone they knew. Maybe he could find out some other way what Jake was up to?

Feeling nervous, he creeped around the container and got to the edge of the building. He saw a crate standing not far from him, and light shining out of a small window just above his head. Should he…?

Carefully, he picked the crate up, and trying to walk without noise he silently inched closer back to the window. As he had gotten there he tried to put the crate down but failed, a soft scraping sound being the result of that. Harry froze, held his breath and waited. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest and his arms were straining because of how tense he was. After a few moments of hearing no one else who could be coming to get him he decided he could move, and climbed up on the crate to peek through the window.

Immediately, he ducked back down.

 _Curt_.

There was no question about it. In there, together with his brother, was Curt.

 _I have to warn him!_ Was his first thought that came to mind. Then he froze again, as he realized this was merely proof that his accusations of Jake at the dinner table had been true. Slowly, ever so slowly he peeked through the window again to confirm he wasn’t going mad. Yes, there he was. Curt, together with Jake. They were laughing, standing closely together – too close for Harry’s liking – and Harry saw how Curt gave Jake something. A package of some sort, a big envelope…

 _Money_.

Somehow, Curt had managed to get money from somewhere, enough to pay Jake back. Where did he get that from? Had he already had the money he needed all along? Had all of Harry’s misery been for nothing?

“Hey! You!”

A yelp escaped form Harry’s lips as he realised he had been caught. _Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Shit fuck tits arse shit._

This was it. This was his end. Harry was sure of it. He closed his eyes and waited for the bang that didn’t follow. Why didn’t a bang follow? Weren’t they going to shoot him on sight?

Or… were they going to take him inside? Was he going to see Curt again? Harry’s eyes opened wide. No. Not Curt. Anything but Curt. Anyone but Curt. In a split second, Harry had made his decision.

“I demand to see Jake,” he said in a shaky voice. “Jake and no one else. You will be sorry if you hurt me in any way before I have spoken to him.”

The man just blinked. “Who the fuck is Jake,” he said.

 _Shit_ , Harry thought. _I really thought he would have been the one in charge…- wait._

“Fine, forget Jake. Take me to see De Draak instead. If you don’t know who Jake is, he will do.” Harry had no idea where this confidence was coming from, but he quite liked it. It felt better than the usual ‘run and hide’ feeling he got when confronted with other people.

Because it had gotten quite late in the evening and it was already getting dark outside Harry couldn’t really make out the man’s face, but he did notice a shift in him as he had mentioned Jake’s other name. _Please don’t take me to Curt, please don’t take me to Curt. Please don’t._

The man mumbled something in a walky-talky he had in his hand and motioned for Harry to step off his crate and walk to him. “Slowly. Hands where I can see them. Got a weapon?”

Harry shook his head and the men let out a short, harsh laugh. “Doesn’t even have a weapon on him but still wants to see Dedraak. How adorable.”

He gave Harry a push towards the door and Harry started walking, stumbling a bit. Great. From being one captive to another. Seemed as if this was his life now.

Getting inside he squinted at the sudden light. The man ushered him into a room and told him to wait. Then he closed the door, and Harry paced up and down. What was going to happen to him now? What would he do when he saw Jake? Would he also see Curt again? What would happen if Curt spotted him while he was trying to get away? Why on earth had he gotten himself in to this mess?

He eyed the door. Should he run? Run and never look back? Maybe Jake would lock him up again. Maybe Curt would come and lock him up again. He walked to the door and his hand hovered over the handle. What if he would try to open it up and it turned out the man had locked it without him noticing, or there was someone standing guard? So many questions. At least now he still had the feeling of being able to walk out. It was like Schrodinger’s cat, if he tried to open the door and he failed to get away he would have to officially pronounce his freedom as dead. Now his freedom could still be either alive or dead, he just didn’t know which one it was. That could all change if he opened that door though….

As he was still debating with himself the choice was made for him, when the door opened from the outside. Suddenly he was standing face to face with Jake again.

“Jake, I…” he started but Jake shushed him. Quickly, he got inside and closed the door.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Harry?” he asked in a hushed voice. “Do you have any idea who these men are?”

“Well, at least I know two of them already,” Harry said. Jake looked at him questioningly.

“Two… Oh.” As it downed on him he looked down. “Harry I am… Truly sorry. Honestly. I really am. For everything that has happened.” Harry gazed at Jake. Where did this come from? “I just…,” Jake gestured his hands helplessly. “I don’t know. You were always so calm and nice to everyone, and you just reminded me of mum so much, and I missed her, you know. I really am sorry. For everything.” He looked Harry straight in the eye now.

“And I am sorry for what happened to you because of Curt, too. He should’ve never been so stupid as to do something like that. I don’t know what got into him, how he could decide to go through with such thing without even discussing it with me before…”

“It was not his idea, you know,” Harry brought out. He know Jake was involved with Curt. He had to tell his brother this. “It was his boyfriend.”

Jake gaped at him. “What? Who?”

“I’m not saying. I’m just saying that his boyfriend found out about you and they had a huge fight while they held… while I was there, too.”

Jake eye’s darkened.

“Harry… I hope you will be okay. I’m sure you will though, you have people around you. Good people. They will help you.”

“Now go. Go and don’t look back. I will let someone drive you back to the city and from there you can take a taxi. Don’t come looking for me again, Harry.”

Harry nodded. This was it. This would be the last time he saw Jake. He knew it, and Jake knew it. There was something very final about this moment.

“I really am sorry Haz,” Jake said softly right before he walked out of the door. He looked down. “Please just wait here, okay? I will send someone who will take you away from here. Take care.”

That was the last thing Jake said to him. His older brother walked out, and softly closed the door behind him.

“Goodbye. You too,” Harry said softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pfew! I know this was quite a long chapter. Do you think it's okay to have it this long or should I cut it into two parts after all? 
> 
> Also, how do you feel? Have all your questions been answered?  
> Stay tuned for the epilogue! I'll upload it in a bit (:  
> Xx.~


	20. Epilogue

“Yes, Dan, please take this call for me. Rachel, when do I have my next meeting?” Harry asked his assistant.

“Five minutes ago,” she replied.

 “Shit, why didn’t you say so? I have to go!”

“Harry, it’s fine,” she laughed. “It’s a lunch meeting with yourself. I scheduled it on purpose. Take a break. You’ve been working your ass off, you’ve deserved it.”

Harry shook his head and laughed too. “What did I ever do to deserve someone like you, love?” he kissed her cheek as he took his jacket. “I’m so glad you came all the way from the Big Apple to here. Got a nice suggestion for me on where to take my lunch?” Right as he asked her his phone beeped.

“I just sent you the address, yeah. Go. Take your time.”

Harry smiled. “Thanks dear.”

He walked out of his office and sighed, finally relaxing a bit. The last few months had taken a toll on him, but on a positive note. He had been working in his dad’s company, and business had been good. His dad said he was a natural for working in the music business. Maybe one day soon he could open up his own studio, start his own record label. He would absolutely love that. Harry picked up his ringing phone as he walked through the hallway.

“Gabe, love, I’m on my break right now.”

“…”

“Yeah, it was a scheduled one, thanks to Rachel. What would I ever do without her?” he laughed. “Do you have time?”

“…”

“Alright, great! See you in a jiff.” He hang up. “Ah, Taylor, just the man I was looking for. Take a break, you have earned it.”

Taylor laughed. “Sure thing boss.”

“Don’t call me boss you damned arsekisser. Take your coat, Rachel gave me a place we should check out.”

“Okay boss, be right up,” Taylor said. He grinned. Harry laughed and shook his head. He could still not get used to being the boss of people. However, with his new management promotion he had recently gotten he was, on paper, Taylor’s boss. There was a whole floor working under him, but he didn’t really feel like they were. He was still a newcomer in his eyes, an invader of their working place. The people working here had had much more experience in this business that he had gotten by now, so he made sure to listen to their advice as much as he could and take whatever they said into account. At the end of the day however, he was still the one calling the shots.

It was good, the way things were. He was still seeing his therapist – in fact, he believed he had a meeting scheduled with her right after his lunch break – but things were going good. Not like he could get Louis out of his mind, but ah well. He didn’t really want to, anyway.

He had listened to his therapist though and not gotten in touch with him. What he _had_ done was give Louis an anonymous donation. Suddenly Louis’ mum could get hospitalized so she would get the care she needed and Louis had enough money to send his two little sisters to a decent school. He even had made sure Louis had the opportunity to take a class course, but he wasn’t sure if Louis had taken up on that offer yet. Bas had only allowed him to ask one question each week about Louis and how things were going, on advice of his therapist. He wasn’t allowed to obsess about the man too much.

Not like he wasn’t, he just didn’t allow others to see it.

It was still pretty difficult for him to accept that the feelings he had for Louis weren’t supposed to be there. So what if they didn’t start under normal circumstances? His emotions just felt so _real_ , so _good_ , he couldn’t believe there was anything bad about feeling the way he did about Louis.

His therapist, Mirna, had often explained it to him though. How she said that the small, kind gestures Louis had made him shouldn’t make up for the fact that he kidnapped him. How giving Harry a blanket and a breath mint shouldn’t mean he could forgive Louis for taking away his freedom. How feeding Harry and bringing him the sweets he liked shouldn’t make it okay that Louis had also harmed Harry physically, that he had drugged him and that he had scarred him emotionally.

She explained it again and again, with the same patience as the first time, and when they were talking Harry always felt that what she said made absolute sense. However, when he was alone again, or when he would just go about his day, he couldn’t help but think about Louis. Think about the way his eyes wrinkled as he laughed, or the way he had been worried about Harry when he had refused to eat. He couldn’t stop but think how at ease he had felt with Louis, which was special under the given circumstances, but would’ve also been special during everyday life. It had been a long time since Harry had felt safer when someone else was in his presence, and he felt like the relationship Louis and he had, the bond between the two of them, was something more than just a syndrome. He felt like they were meant to meet, like they weren’t supposed to live their life without knowing of the other one’s existence.

Harry was okay with letting Louis be right where he was though. But no, he hadn’t been able to start a real relationship with someone else just yet. Not like he hadn’t tried; the guy from the coffee shop had been very nice, but after a few dates he felt that he couldn’t stop comparing him to Louis in everything he did. He wasn’t ready for a relationship yet, and that was okay. Harry was okay. He had Gabe, and Taylor, and his father, and Bas. He had work, and his co-workers, he still had his childhood nanny, Nancy, he had Mirna, and he was happy.

He really was.

He just wished he would have been able to live in another life, so he could share his happiness with Louis. But he would get over that feeling. It would just take more time. And for now, everything was okay just the way it was.

 

 

 

_**End.**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaa! It's actually finished!  
> How do you feel? What did you think? Was it okay for my first attempt? (:
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it and for those who stuck by me during this long, long time it took for me to finally finish it, I'm sorry and thank you so very much.
> 
> If you're curious about whether or not I will be posting more stories, yes, I do have a concept idea in my head. You know how slow I can be though haha. I also think I'm not going to start posting that one till I have a few more chapters lined up so I can try and make sure I don't have these huge gaps of time between posting chapters.
> 
> Take care lovelies!  
> Xx.~  
> Mirthe


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